I haven't had the best week. I could go on and say year, but I won't go there. I'll just say a lot of struggles and trials have plagued me and God has used those to stretch me.
This past week has been connection of dots bad. Built up events and little occurrences made this week challenging. Running behind on projects, trying to sleep, trying to do one thing on my "to-do" list that has been left unchecked for weeks, going to Mission Conference, and so forth has made for a busy stressful week.
But somehow I stayed sane. That is God's grace was sufficient. Not once did I miss a devotion time. A devotion time for me now includes going through the Psalms. I do not consider my devotions to be good anymore if I have only read and didn't obtain any of the information I just read. I can read so many chapters of the Bible and not be changed because of either unconfessed sin, lack of concentration, or a little bit of both. Main point is if you were to ask me how my devotions were going, I would go by whether or not my time has been spent in prayer and consideration of God's word rather than looking into it and walking away to my daily routine.
That is the thing. I want my time with God to matter. I want it to define the day I will have. They say bad days are a matter of perspective and it's true.
One night in chapel I felt on the verge of passing out. I have a tight tendon that prevents me from running without pain later on in my leg. I'm limping because I ran anyways. I saw a friend who I thought never would fail me fail me. I had family members bash my faith. I struggled with temptation. I've struggled with patience. I forgot to do a homework assignment. I haven't gotten around to working on one study guide I forgot about long ago....
But I have kept in touch with my family a lot better. Have had better devotional times. Have sought to be happy for others instead of being jealous of them. Sought things outside my comfort zone. Renewed friendships. Prayed more. Prayed more about witnessing to family members. Enjoyed getting into the Word. Laughed at myself many times for saying things for lack of sleep or just being the absent minded person I am. Had good deep meaningful conversations with friends. Saw a friend recommit their life to Christ. So on and so forth.
In the grand spectrum of things, I could say I had a bad week, but I don't want to say I have. It's actually been a good week. I feel like as I sought the Lord more in prayer and his word, I found things to level out. I admit to the times that God seems so far away and that's when we need to go to him and pour our hearts out to him. Thanks be to God who gives us a better perspective on things. He teaches us to not worry, be thankful, and to pursue the things that matter. The things that matter He has control over. The things that do not matter He does too, but they do last into the everlasting kingdom established for Him and those who have trusted in Him.
I want to encourage anyone who is having one of those weeks to read at least one, if not all, of the chapters below. And start getting into the Psalms! I noticed God allows each day to be fitting for wherever I am spiritually. Don't be afraid to read the ones where the psalmist is having a horrible circumstances. That is where God can draw you closer to Him.
Psalm 17
Psalm 18
Psalm 37
Psalm 40
Psalm 103
2 Corinthians 4-5:10
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