Thursday, March 14, 2013

By: Gwen Hitt

Two for One

Romans 14:18 "If you serve Christ with THIS attitude, you will please God, AND others will approve of you, too."

Don't you just love coming across a really great bargain? I especially love the "buy one and get one free" sales.

As I studied today's scripture, I began to reflect on what type of attitude is "THIS" attitude. I once read a quote that I truly believe encompasses the type of attitude that we should display in order to be eligible for our "two for one" deal-1) the approval of God and 2) the approval of others. It goes like this: "Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is about learning to dance in the rain".

When I first read this quote, I thought about what my Pastor has shared with us about storms. He says that at any given time, we are either facing a storm, just getting out of a storm, or getting ready to go through a storm. Think about it. We would never get to the point where we could DANCE if we would wait to do so when everything is perfectly calm in our lives.

Now, how do we dance in the rain? I believe that our umbrella of protection from the storms of life is our attitude. We have a choice to wait out our situations in despair OR to handle what we face in the best way possible.

We may need to occasionally open our largest umbrella because the rain is coming down so hard in our lives that we can actually feel the stinging of our pain. However, the alternative to just suffering through our trials IS realizing that we do have the CHOICE to dance in the rain!

I want you to think of two individuals--one who generally displays a good attitude about things and the other who normally does not. Which person would you choose to be around? Who do you think God would be most pleased with?

My challenge to you today is to cash in on the "two for one" deal offered by God by purposing to serve Him with a positive attitude no matter what you are going through. By doing so, you will be eligible for the double benefit of pleasing Him as well as others!

Dear Lord, I ask You to help me to learn how to dance in the rain of my trials. I will trust in You as You lead me through the necessary steps to learn how to master this crucial dance.

I thank you Jesus for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life. In the Name of Jesus I pray, Amen