By Lysa TerKeurst
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
A couple of weeks ago, my daughter Ashley had a gymnastics meet that didn’t go so well. She fell on almost every event. She scored well below her expectations and I thought there would be lots of tears at the awards ceremony. But, much to my surprise, she bounced up to me and exclaimed, “Mom, did you see I landed my vault on my feet. That’s a good thing about today.”
She then flitted off with her teammates to get ice cream. One of the other moms grabbed my arm and complimented Ashley’s good attitude. Though I did feel sad for Ashley - after all she had worked so hard to prepare for this meet, my heart still swelled with joy. That compliment meant more than seeing my daughter with a neck full of gold medals. Do I want Ashley to win? Yes, of course. But seeing a good attitude displayed in the face of adversity - well that’s simply priceless.
Ashley’s outlook challenged me. How many times do I have something bad happen in my day and it just seems to turn my whole attitude south? Instead of just resigning myself to being emotional or sensitive, I’ve decided to see this as a call to action. I’ve started making the choice to say a simple statement that often diverts a bad attitude. And the statement is this, “If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, it’s still a pretty good day.”
Boy does this statement put things into perspective. I guess it’s an everyday way to do a little heart check up. The Bible tells us that we should intentionally make our minds think of things that are good, true, excellent, and praiseworthy. The more I think about things like these, the more my perspective seems to stay in check. In Colossians 3:15 we are instructed to, “Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts… and be thankful.” Verse 16 goes on to say that we should also, “Let the word of God dwell in us richly…” Finally, verse 17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”
Letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and letting the word of God dwell in us richly doesn’t just happen naturally. We have to intentionally make those choices. And we have to challenge ourselves to deal with the bad while focusing on all the good that is there as well.
So, what aggravation or disappointment are you facing today? If that’s the worst thing that happens - I bet you could say it’s still a pretty good day too.
Dear Lord, help me to put daily aggravations into proper perspective. Give me the wisdom to choose to let the peace of Christ rule in my heart. And give me a hunger to get into Your word and let Your word get into me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
The Bathtub is Overflowing but I Feel Drained by Lysa TerKeurst
P31 Woman magazine
Do You Know Him?
Application Steps:
Click over to Lysa’s Blog to post a comment about how you will choose to see the good rather than focus on the bad in your day today. Each time something aggravates you, make the choice to say, “If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, it’s still a pretty good day.”
Reflections:
Are there some areas that are consistently tripping up your attitude? Find some verses that you can memorize to help redirect your outlook when negativity starts to creep into your heart. Intentionally recall things you are thankful for and focus on praising God for those circumstances.
Power Verses:
Philippians 4: 4-5, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all…” (NIV)
Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV)
Colossians 3: 15-17, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (NIV)
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
A couple of weeks ago, my daughter Ashley had a gymnastics meet that didn’t go so well. She fell on almost every event. She scored well below her expectations and I thought there would be lots of tears at the awards ceremony. But, much to my surprise, she bounced up to me and exclaimed, “Mom, did you see I landed my vault on my feet. That’s a good thing about today.”
She then flitted off with her teammates to get ice cream. One of the other moms grabbed my arm and complimented Ashley’s good attitude. Though I did feel sad for Ashley - after all she had worked so hard to prepare for this meet, my heart still swelled with joy. That compliment meant more than seeing my daughter with a neck full of gold medals. Do I want Ashley to win? Yes, of course. But seeing a good attitude displayed in the face of adversity - well that’s simply priceless.
Ashley’s outlook challenged me. How many times do I have something bad happen in my day and it just seems to turn my whole attitude south? Instead of just resigning myself to being emotional or sensitive, I’ve decided to see this as a call to action. I’ve started making the choice to say a simple statement that often diverts a bad attitude. And the statement is this, “If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, it’s still a pretty good day.”
Boy does this statement put things into perspective. I guess it’s an everyday way to do a little heart check up. The Bible tells us that we should intentionally make our minds think of things that are good, true, excellent, and praiseworthy. The more I think about things like these, the more my perspective seems to stay in check. In Colossians 3:15 we are instructed to, “Let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts… and be thankful.” Verse 16 goes on to say that we should also, “Let the word of God dwell in us richly…” Finally, verse 17 says, “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…”
Letting the peace of Christ rule in our hearts and letting the word of God dwell in us richly doesn’t just happen naturally. We have to intentionally make those choices. And we have to challenge ourselves to deal with the bad while focusing on all the good that is there as well.
So, what aggravation or disappointment are you facing today? If that’s the worst thing that happens - I bet you could say it’s still a pretty good day too.
Dear Lord, help me to put daily aggravations into proper perspective. Give me the wisdom to choose to let the peace of Christ rule in my heart. And give me a hunger to get into Your word and let Your word get into me. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
The Bathtub is Overflowing but I Feel Drained by Lysa TerKeurst
P31 Woman magazine
Do You Know Him?
Application Steps:
Click over to Lysa’s Blog to post a comment about how you will choose to see the good rather than focus on the bad in your day today. Each time something aggravates you, make the choice to say, “If this is the worst thing that happens to me today, it’s still a pretty good day.”
Reflections:
Are there some areas that are consistently tripping up your attitude? Find some verses that you can memorize to help redirect your outlook when negativity starts to creep into your heart. Intentionally recall things you are thankful for and focus on praising God for those circumstances.
Power Verses:
Philippians 4: 4-5, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all…” (NIV)
Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (NIV)
Colossians 3: 15-17, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” (NIV)
5 Comments:
Hi Lysa: I love what Ashley said, "that's a good thing about today." God has been showing me that I'm not to rate my days anymore...whether they were good or bad. Sometimes I would call the day bad, when truthfully it was not! Sometimes the enemy would send thoughts that the day was just okay, when indeed it was better than okay!! I have found such freedom in letting go of labeling each day. That's why I really love Ashley's comment. She's blessed to have that perspective at such a young age!! Keep up the good work Lysa!
this devotion was right on! i heard an inspirational msg last nite entitled "stick with it" saying that during a crisis we are wrestling with our destiny and shouldn't let go until we are blessed or see the fruit/lesson learned from the experience just like Jacob (Genesis 32). a positive attitude and humble heart are essential to surviving a crisis. God bless you and Ashley for this story, it blessed me:)
God used this in my heart today. It is exactly what I needed because of a very disturbing situation in my life that I am struggling with right now. I have had to remember that I am in a spiritual battle and the person I am struggling with is not the enemy. So today was totally appropriate for me.
Thank you.
This completely relates to an experience I had recently. I wanted to see what it was like to be "filled with the Holy Spirit"/to have a day with God. So I prayed earnestly for it and was blessed with a wonderful/stress-free day with many pleasant surprises. A few days later, I prayed earnestly again for a God-led day. It was a decent day but filled with many aggravations: a broken bowl, a dumped desk drawer, white out mess from the two year old, and a 4 yr old pee accident on the carpet at 11pm at night. The interesting part was that I had complete peace through it all and was able to stop myself from "blowing up" at each incident. It did take work on my part because I had to consciously choose God's peace when I easily could have fallen into the enemy's pattern of reaction. Now I feel I have a better idea of what it means to be living by the Spirit instead of the flesh; it helps us to have "a pretty good day" in spite of what's happening around us and to us.
Thank you so much. I am a graduate student and currently, my roommate has threatened my health and my labmate hates me for not copying my 6-months worth of notes for her. I felt like a rock in a hard place until I read this. If this is the worst thing that could happen to me in this season of my like, it's still a good season :-) What a blessing to have sisters like you!
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