Day 15 - Issue 27
Philippians 4:4 NLT
Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice!
Stress will make you irritable, tired, negative and cynical. None of these are attractive lifestyle choices. In building up resilience to stress, each of us needs deliberately to cultivate means to strengthen stress management. There are obvious ways, such as eating regularly a balanced diet, and breath prayer. It is also important to keep hydrated. However, changing our mood is critical too.
When I first visited the USA, I was in awe of the apparent success of every individual I met. They were full of self-confidence. I soon realised this was ‘the American way’, where perception is reality. My learning was useful for I recognised as I perceived life, so it was. My mind took a view and then I checked in and determined how I would perceive the sequence my mind presented me with. I was not going to have my mood dictate to me. Yes, my feelings may be the product of stress, yet I recognised that I decided how I would treat such stress. I would move away from the circumstances that lowered my mood, raised my temper, generated the cynical and sarcastic me, and find a space to be still and separate myself from the situation for a moment. Here I readjusted my perception and settled upon the joy in God that was no less mine when stressed than when relaxing on my own terms in the Oratory garden. God is unchangeable (Hebrews 13:8).
I needed to take hold of my perception. Will I yield to my mood born of my perception, or accept myself as God accepts me and choose to rejoice and rest in the divine? As Adam and Eve discovered, obeying God is about exercising my own will, not using God as some crutch or panacea for my life’s many challenges.
QUESTION: How do you see your life – is it with a positive or cynical perspective?
PRAYER: Lord, help me to remember who you are and what you’ve done, and allow my soul to delight in you.
