"It Is What It Is" -2

"For Thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not Thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?" (Psalms 56:13) They say that discouragement to one the devil's most used tools against God's people, and that he uses it more than anything else because we can get so easily discouraged, especially when it comes to our walk with God. Is it any wonder why we can get so discouraged with ourselves? No, not if we are focused upon all of the sin in our lives; which is why I believe Paul used that wonderful suggestion in Philippians 4:8, about how we need to dwell upon all the good stuff, and we need to lay aside the bad; actually, push aside might be a better way to put it. Yesterday, as with most days, I heard several messages that seemed to blend into what God has been putting on my heart; the one that came to mind this morning was given by Pastor Ron. Although I really don't usually like his style of teaching, and some of what he says I might not totally agree with, yesterday he said something that we all need to put into practice much more often. He was speaking about what goes through our minds, like say, when our spouse is late getting home; they were to be home at 5:00, and now it's 7:30; do we assume the worst, or do we think and pray about the best? The worst being that they might be having an affair, or that they have been in an  accident; the best being that they are ministering to someone, and if so, they need me to pray that God would give them the right words to say, and that whomever they are sharing with would receive God's Spirit upon their life. In this modern instant communication society in which we live, it sure is easy to get offended by something as simple as a text message that is not returned, or a call that is not answered; we automatically think that they are ignoring our communication, or that they just don't want to talk to us, for whatever reason; because you know that they never put down their phone, so it's not that they don't know you are calling them. What a perfect opportunity to pray for them, especially if it is someone that is near and dear to your heart. Discouragement comes in many shapes and sizes, and when we are in the mood to accept being discouraged, things can quickly line up to give us reason to be discouraged. Instead, what we really need to be about is encouragement; not just for others, but encouraging ourselves by just thanking God for loving us just the way that we are, and despite the walk, crawl, or whatever else you might want to call it; God is for us, trust Him with all your heart... "But I rejoiced the the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:10-14)