Day 353: That's Life: Series (Part 1)

Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

Ecclesiastes 8:15

So I recommend having fun, because there is nothing better for people in this world than to eat, drink, and enjoy life. That way they will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives them under the sun.

This is the start of another series leading to the end of the year. This series we are going to talk about life and uno the teachings that we have been taught for so long, that allows us or makes us see life one way and one way only. We often talk about how pain and suffering is a part of life. But as much as they are so is joy, peace, love, happiness, life is good too. We need to talk about that a bit more than we talk about all the bad things that can come out of life. Life can be rough but that is not all there is to it.

As humans we have become so overtaken with this idea of struggling through life. Fighting against something our entire lives to get to where we are. Proving that we are strong because we’ve been through something. People actually say that until you’ve experienced hardship you haven’t experienced life. We have become what seems like obsessed with the ideas of struggle. The more we’ve gone through the better the testimony. We have misconstrued what life really is. We have taught our children and we have been taught that life is a struggle. Life is hard. Prepare ourselves. Have tough skin. But what if I told you that that was wrong. What if I told you that struggling is only a small part of life compared to good. Pain is only a moment compared to the joy and happiness.

There is just as much peace as there is violence and evil. It’s in us. We have to change our perspective. Not of what we see but how we see things. We have to choose to hang on to that glimmer of hope. Life isn’t all struggle and pain. Trust me it’s not. For the moments when the pain and struggles ceases, why can’t life be butterflies and unicorns? Why can’t we enjoy life to fullest. There’s no one telling us we can’t .Life is beautiful. Life is a gift. Life is a blessing. Witnessing life is a privilege. 

There’s so much more to this life than that we overlook, because when we think about real life we only think about how hard it is. How brutal it can be. How it can chew us up and spit us out. Real life is actually beautiful and full of joy and love when we think about it. Real life is laughing with your friends until the break of dawn. Real life is taking a chance and going on that date with that person. Real life is the thrill of throwing your hands up on a roller coaster. Real life is watching your friends and family succeed and being just as happy for them as you would for yourself. It’s being able to travel across the world to climb a mountain or taste real Italian food. Real life is building up the courage to ask that girl to marry you. It’s being overwhelmed with emotion because you are so happy. Life is sharing moments, the beautiful moments the joyful moments. Life is seeing the smile on the face of someone you love because they've just accomplished something they've been going after for a while. It's seeing you prayers for people come to fruition. Life is all the little moments strung together to make up what we get to describe as living. Life is being vulnerable enough not to just cry when you’re in pain, but to cry because you are happy. Life is not being ashamed to walk down the street holding hands with your best friend because you are grateful God has blessed you with them. Life is telling your family and friends you love them. Life is hugging your family or friends. Or hugging the stranger with the free hugs sign. This may sound crazy to many of you.It sounds crazy to me as I write it. Because we have been conditioned and taught that life is hard. We’ve been trained to be tough so life doesn’t knock us down. We’ve been told since we were young kids in school that life is hard and it can get the best of us. But I want to undo all of that and tell you that you will get the best of life. It will not get the best of you.  

All this to say, we weren't prepared for the beauty of life, or the joys of life, because we've only been conditioned to be tough so that life can't knock us done. With that being said we don't really know how to enjoy life, we don't know how to relax or take a break because we want to be ahead of the game. I want to encourage your day to take a chance and see that there si more to life that being in a constant battle. God did not intend for us to struggle every moment of our lives. Believe or not He actually wants us to enjoy life. He gave us the pleasures of life to enjoy, give yourself permission to enjoy it. 

Reflection 

1. What is your perspective on life?

2. Do you find yourself constantly in the pattern of thinking of life as only a struggle?

3. What are some things you can do to change that perspective?

4. Are you rally living life to the fullest?

Prayer Time 

Allow you answer to the above questions guide your prayer today. Take the time to talk to God about life and thank Him for blessing us with a beautiful life. 

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 354!

Day 318: Light Up My World

2 Peter 1:18-21

18 We ourselves heard that voice from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 19 Because of that experience, we have even greater confidence in the message proclaimed by the prophets. You must pay close attention to what they wrote, for their words are like a lamp shining in a dark place—until the Day dawns, and Christ the Morning Star shines in your hearts. 20 Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

We all have that one thing or that one person that just lights our world up. Making us feel good and cozy on the inside, we all have that one thing that makes us feel like no matter what it going on everything will be alright. No matter how I’m feeling when I come in contact with this person or this thing everything is fine. There’s something for all of us that just lights our world up, you might not be able to point it out now, but you know what it is when it comes up. That’s how the word of God lights up our life. It’s a light to our path, there’s something about walking with God and knowing that no matter what He’s always with you that lights up our world. He comes and turns everything upside down in the best way possible. God is just so amazing He lights up our world. Sometimes I can’t help but be taken away with how great He is. I can’t help but fall into His presence and worship Him, because He brings so much into my little world and life. God improves our lives so much, and improves who we are as people. No one can light up our life the way God can, He provides a light brighter than every light on the earth. He provides a joy that we can get nowhere else. The word of God is what will lead us to eternity. We listen to the words of the prophets and we still have faith in this beautiful book written thousands of years ago because it never failed. This word came straight from God, He used people to show us a way that was and is better than ours. His word gives us the opportunity to have a relationship with Him and live a life lit up by Him. He lights everything up in our life. God is the one person that no matter what is going on in our lives we know that as long as we have faith in Him we are alright and the proof is in His word. The beauty of this cannot be described in words.

His word is like a lamp to our path, as the scripture says. God’s word is direction for our feet. He lights up every step that we take, He directs us and leads us where we need to go. Everything we could ever need, the answer is in His word, if we are looking for direction it can be found in His word. If we are looking for a way out of darkness the answer is in His word. The beauty of God’s word is that it gives us so much, a while ago I heard someone say the acronym for the Bible was, Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. The word of God has the tools that we need to survive, and by survive I mean so much more than just getting by day-to-day.

All this to say, the word of God has provided us with a way to sustain while here on earth, it has instructed us to live while we are still here but to look forward to what is to come. When we read the word we see the countless wonders of God. We come to know the magnitude of God’s love for us, knowing that someone loves me enough to continuously pursue my heart and send His son as a sacrifice lights up my world. None of this will be known without the word of God. That is why it is so important for us to read Gods word and dive into it, because it is through His word that we gain an understanding of who He is. It is through God’s word that He is able to light up our lives.

Reflection/Prayer Time

Has God lit up you life? How? Take the time to thank God for His word and thank Him that in the midst of darkness He brings light, and that He is constantly lighting up our life with His love and goodness. Take the time to praise God for all He’s done and more than that just who He is.

I love you and I hope you have an amazing day or evening! Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for day 319!