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Creating the Good Life
by Larry Armstrong Creating the Good Life Larry L. Armstrong Read: Psalm 34 The good life! We search for it, and each of us defines what it ought to be like for ourselves. Some see it in money. If they had a certain bank balance every month after bills were paid, they'd have a good life. Others consider friends to be the measure of life's joy. With friends, life must be wonderful. Health and physical prowess offer middle aged men or women a sense of arriving at their lives' goal. To be handsome or beautiful can translate into a good life, too. But all these are treasures that rust or are consumed by the moth or the month (time as it passes). So how can the good life be constructed? What are its ingredients and the recipe by which to mix them? In A Woman After God's Own Heart, Elizabeth George said, "So keep that focus on having a good day today and, at day's end, slip that single pearl onto your strand. The pearls on your strand will add up to a good life!" The good life is made out of your days added one to another until they become jewels you can cherish. Yet a worthwhile life isn't simply the accumulation of days. If it were, then a long life would constitute a good one, but length of days isn't always time enjoyed or well spent. The moments you string together have to be worthy ones in order for you have a good life. So how do you construct first one good day, then a second and a third, and so on until the good life is created for you? Psalm 34 outlines the source and character of a truly good life. Note especially these verses: Come, my children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. Psalm 34:11-14 (NIV) Your words create a good day that can be added to a string of marvelous days to create a delightful life. Your communication with others determines the outcome of the day you begin each new morning. Speak harshly, unkindly or cruelly, and you'll have a bad day. And not a very good life. Instead, start your days as the psalmist started his poem. Recognize who God is and how wonderful he behaves toward you. Respect him and give him praise and allegiance. Your day will end as a good one, even if it wasn't an easy one. Still, your life will be on the road to becoming a genuinely good life. Application: Count your blessings. List at least ten on a slip of paper. Then leave for work. Take your list with you, and if things get frustrating, read your list. Prayer: Lord Jesus, no matter what troubles I see today, make this day a good one. You're the source of my life! Amen. Copyright (c) 2010 by Larry L. Armstrong Larry L. Armstrong is author of Patience: Harvesting the Spirit's Fruit and other books and ebooks. He's pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Jeannette, PA as well as a speaker for FaithProbe seminars. Find out more at www.FaithProbe.com. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |