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The Small Stuff
by Adam Bennett I have often heard the mantra "don't sweat the small stuff." I've had cause to think in recent weeks that for many people there life consists of a chain small things - and when one of those things is going wrong they are unable to cope with anything. Knowing God creates the opportunity to approach each day with an eternal perspective. Like the Psalmist, we can say, "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalsm 118:24) We can rejoice because God made the day... every moment follows the next at his will. God's creative work did not finish after the seven days in Genesis. If the sun rises in the morning it is because he has told it to. "The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to the place where it sets" (Psalm 50:1) Not only this, but it is sustained through God's direct effort. Paul wrote, "there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist." (1 Corinthians 8:6) And, as he preached to the Athenians, "he [God] himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything." Regardless of what we encounter in each day we are promised the resources to meet it. Jesus assured us that our Father, "knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:8). In fact, "God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." (1 John 3:20) Even our trials cannot dampen our joy. Instead, "we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (Romans 5:2-5) With this in mind, we can approach every day as one created by God, sustained by God, provided for by God and purposed by God - and we can say, "This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." Copyright Adam Bennett 2009. More articles are available at http://godward-thoughts.blogspot.com/ Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |