Week 45
If we want to experience the power of God’s love in all areas of life, it is not enough to simply believe in Him. We must become conscious of Him on a daily and eve hourly basis. When the presence of God permeates our lives like leaven permeates a loaf of bread, we will begin to experience His power of love and grace much more clearly. This week I want to direct our attention to some of the results of becoming more conscious of God.
Day one: Read John 14:18. I read recently of a woman whose father had died. Her mother went into a deep and enduring depression. The daughter did all she could but her mother made little to no progress.
She found a little booklet titled “One Day at a Time.” Each page of that booklet contained an activity that could help overcome the inertia and self-pity her mother was experiencing. The activities were designed to renew awareness of God’s goodness. Each day of the week had a different suggested activity.
The activity for Monday was, “Get up early and take a dawn walk. Watch the world wake up.”
Each day this week I will share with you one of those activities. They help us to focus on God’s presence, goodness, and encouragement. The point is that focus on God will lead to activity and action is the way out of most of our emotional struggles. You can take actions that will lead you out of grief.
Many people are reluctant to let go of their grief but the Scriptures teach us that we are to grieve but not as those who have no hope. The reluctance is usually grows out of a mistaken notion that to get over the grief means that you did not really love the deceased enough. That simply is not true. One of the best ways to express love to someone who has preceded us in death is to honor their memory with increasing joy and service to others through Christ.
What can you do today to honor someone you have lost? Write your thoughts.
Day two: “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed…” I love this thought. Your heart is the seat of your emotion and attention. Jesus said that where are hearts were is where we would be. I read recently of an experience from the life of St. Francis of Assisi.
A caretaker missed St. Francis one bitter cold night. He searched but could not find him. The caretaker went outside and found Francis kneeling on a hill, completely unprotected from the blizzard that was raging around him. His arms were uplifted and his friar’s cloak was whipped about by the icy winds. He stayed that way all night, completely unaware of the cold. When he was asked later how he could do that, he replied, “God gives His warmth, when the heart is fixed on Him.”
I probably could not do what he did but I know that fixing my attention on God enables me to get through many of the storms of life. If you are going through a stormy place in your life try to focus on God rather than on your problem. It is a way to inner peace.
I know of athletes who have continued to play a physical game even after a serious injury. They did so without pain, many not even knowing they had been hurt. The reason? They were totally focused on the game. It was only after the game was over that they experienced the pain. Focus makes a difference.
Tuesday’s activity is to find a simple task and do it. Possibly you could simply get up early and fix a light breakfast alone. Pay attention to the way things come together. God brings things together in our lives.
Have you ever been so focused that you have forgotten the passage of time? Write your thoughts.
Day three: Read John 13:35. A group of people once visited Dr. Albert Schweitzer in Africa in an attempt to persuade him to leave the jungle hospital and return to Europe. They told him that there would be great praise and honor awaiting him there.
During that conversation, a young mother whose child had been saved by Dr. Schweitzer came up to thank him. She kissed his hand and left two tears on the back of his hand. Schweitzer looked down at his hand and said, “Those two diamonds of love are the only reward I want.”
Jesus came to earth from heaven to save our lives. The only reward He wants is our faith and love. He first loved us and wants us to love Him and others in return. Are you doing that?
When we become conscious of love in our lives, we should immediately relate that to the presence of God.
Wednesday’s activity is to go to a bookstore or a library and browse through the books. You may find yourself gravitating toward a book or books on a particular subject. Try to find a book that will be of help to you and read it as a gift from God.
What books have helped you to become conscious of God in the past? Write your thoughts.
Day four: Read Psalm 90:4. You and I are all given the same number of hours each day. We don’t all use them in the same ways but we can all make better us of the time. We can, as the Scriptures say, “redeem the time.” There are many places and times that we are forced to wait. Some of those times have been frustrating to us because we have never learned to use them.
I read of a man who was agitated as he was stuck in a traffic jam. He kept thinking about places he wanted to be and things he needed to do. Obviously he was not going to be able to do those things at this time. He was “stuck.” His frustration level was rising.
He glanced into the rearview mirror and saw the man behind him apparently singing.. He appeared to be conducting an imaginary orchestra with one hand. He probably was using the sounds of honking horns as part of his imaginary orchestra. He was miles away on a stage, a symphony hall, or in a Hollywood musical. Who was using the “lost” time better?
Time in lines can be used to pray for the people around us. It can be used to think good thoughts about people there. It can be a time for introspection. Next time you are stuck waiting for an elevator or in a line at a supermarket, apply these thoughts.
Thursday’s activity is to write a thank you note or make a thank you call to someone who has meant something special in your life. Pray for that person and thank God for him/her.
We waste time fretting over lost time. We can use the “lost” time to deepen our awareness of people around us and our awareness of God.
Write your thoughts.
Day five: “…He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed” (Mark 1:35). When was the last time you deliberately we out to a solitary place for the purpose of praying? If it is not possible to “go out” perhaps you can deliberately go to a secluded place in your house or into the back yard and spend a quiet time in prayer.
Do you have a special place for prayer? I believe it is helpful to designate a place in your home as a special place of prayer. We can pray all over the house but it is helpful to one place that is special.
During the summer months I designate the deck on the back of our house as a place of prayer and meditation. I am able to stand or sit there and thank God for the beauty of the nature I see around me. When other activities are going conducted on that deck, I still find myself remembering the times that I spend there is special prayer. It helps me to be more conscious of God, even during a time of grilling hamburgers on the deck.
Your special place will become a reminder of God’s presence in your life.
The suggested activity for Friday is to think of a loved one you have lost to death and remember someone who was special to that loved one. Find a picture or write a note that will be meaningful to that person and do that in memory of the one you lost.
What is your special place of prayer? If you don’t have one where could it be?
Day six: Read Proverbs 15:13. A merry heart will be reflect by a smile on your face. I had never heard of “National Smile Week.” I saw it listed in a book I was reading this week but I don’t know when that week is. It occurred to me, however, that every week should be national smile week. Even when there isn’t much to smile about we can find that a smile makes us feel a little better.
Smile and the world smiles with you,
Kick and you kick alone.
For the cheerful grin will let you in
Where the kicker is never known.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
This is not a suggestion to be dishonest about your troubles or your pain. It is a suggestion that we are wise to look for whatever silver lining we can find behind the clouds.
It is hard for me to believe that being aware of God’s presence and love in your life does not bring a smile to your face. Sometimes it simply makes me grin from ear to ear.
We had a neighbor, Mr. Weston, in Southeast Missouri whom I never saw without a smile on his face. That is literally the truth. I never saw him without a smile on his face. He was a devout Christian and a wonderful witness for his faith.
When my grandfather was in a bad mood, my grandmother would chide him with, “Well, Harv, your face sure doesn’t look like Mr. Weston’s.”
Saturday’s activity: Deliberately go somewhere that you have never been. Drive on a different road or street and look for new things. God makes everything new. When we see new things we can become more conscious of Him.”
Does awareness of God’s presence in your life make you smile? Write your thoughts.
Day seven: Read Revelation 10:1. Worship is a matter of the heart. You can worship even when you don’t understand what is going on in the people around you. Years ago I went to a movie in Rome. It was in Italian with no sub-titles. I could get the gist of the story by watching the action, paying attention to the expressions on the actor’s faces and by paying attention to the audience. It was an interesting experience. It caused me to think of worshipping God in a foreign country with people who speak a totally different language. I can worship with any one who is worshipping because it is a matter of the heart.
It is also true of prayer. You don’t have to know a special language of prayer. Prayer is a matter of the heart. When we pray from our heart, God’s Spirit makes sense of all our prayers and prays for us.
God to church somewhere today and worship God from your heart.
Sunday’s suggested activity is to touch your toes ten times (or if you can’t reach that far, touch your knees ten times) and each time you touch your toes (or knees) give thanks for something God has given you.