One day a man was asked, “Do you wake up grumpy in the morning?” to which he replied, “Oh no! I let her sleep!” Some of us just are not morning people are we? I am usually pretty chipper in the morning, but sometimes, well, the cares of the world and the pressures of life get to me and I find myself being a little less cordial than I should be. Cordial, the dictionary says, is to be, “warm and friendly.” Do you find yourself being cold and mean sometimes? I know I can be. And generally it has to do with my circumstances.
We have talked about circumstance before in these writings, but it seems that no matter how hard we try to overcome there is always a circumstance that drags us down! You have all heard the statement I’m sure. Someone asks someone else, “How are you?” To which the reply comes, “Well, pretty good under the circumstances!” “Well what are you doing under them?” the person asks! Think about that for a moment. Are your circumstances dictating to you what sort of day you are going to have? Are your circumstances telling you how you should treat your spouse or your children? Paul tells us in Philippians 4:11. “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” Paul understood that no matter what was going on in his life, no matter how bad it looked around him, that God was in control and nothing was going to happen to him unless God allowed it. Jesus tells us in Matthew 10:28-29, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” Your Heavenly Father cares for the sparrows! How much more is He going to care and provide for you? His desire is to have a relationship with you so close that you don’t need to worry about a thing! He knows that things will get tough or He wouldn’t say, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.” If your soul is alive in Jesus then you have nothing to fear! But if you don’t know Jesus then you sure do have everything to fear! Jesus wants to take care of you. He will not change your circumstance but He will give you the faith to get through them. I read this the other day, “Jesus won’t take you around your circumstances, but He will give you the faith to get though them.”
Let us now if we can do anything for you. Naomi and I sure love all y’all! -Pastor Steve