Making Tough Decisions

Let’s face it—there is not a day that goes by at which matters of concern are not brought to your attention.  From the moment your roll out of bed until you’ve completed a days’ worth of activities, decisions are always brewing and waiting for you to plan the next course of events. What are you going to wear today? Do the kids have after school rehearsals? How long are you going to stay in this relationship? Is it your turn to carpool or provide team snacks for the upcoming game on Saturday? When are you going to fill out that paperwork that’s been sitting on the kitchen table for over a month?

While some of those questions may seem minor and easy to address, you can’t overlook those really tough decisions too. You know… the ones that you have been putting off and hoping that the issue would just go away.

Making those tough decisions all boils down to you weighing out all the options, getting off that emotional rollercoaster of “what ifs” and really consider what’s best for you in the long run. Do you want what you want to have OR do you want what God want you to have?  The Lord has your best interest at heart and is waiting for you to trust Him and lean not to your own understanding. Although everything around you, including people, will attempt to make you feel as if you are making the wrong choice, you must follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit and go with God’s will. It would be too simple to take the easy way out of things, but if you be strong in Him, don’t 2^nd guess yourself and apply wisdom, you’ll come out with a resolve and most importantly, be at peace.

~ Dr. Amichia

Scriptures:

Proverbs 3:5-7                Proverbs 8:14              Philippians 4: 7                      Psalms 27:14

Finding Joy in Tough TImes

“Rejoice in the Lord alway and again I say, Rejoice.” Phil. 4:4

Life isn’t always a basket of roses and flowers. In fact, nobody is exempt from experiencing pitfalls and challenges. However, having a relationship with God the Father sure does make it easier to cope and endure them. The beauty found in such tough times is being able to discover the fruit of joy and allow all that it has to aid us in our ability of overcoming! In II Kings 4: 22-23, we read about a woman who experienced the loss of her child.  “Then she called to her husband, and said, “Please send me one of the young men and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and come back.”23 So he said, “Why are you going to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath.” And she said, [e]“It is well.”

Consider the woman’s response to her son’s death. What made her come to a resolve of being “well” with such a loss? Having Joy means that we can look beyond our circumstances and see that God is mighty in his ways and is never taken by surprise with any tough time we encounter. When you refuse to succumb to the stings of tough times, there is a settling that arises from within you that God is in control of every detail of your life and that everything is going to be alright. Instead of grief, she chose to seek after the Father, yielding her not only joy and comfort, but a reviving of her son. Decide today to put every tough time in the hands of God and hold on to the truth that everything is going to be alright!

~Amichia