I just recently borrowed a few books from my Aunt Shirley, and one of them is Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado. It is a collection of devotionals for each day of the year, and I started it today - and the introduction just really spoke to me. I'm going to copy it here at the bottom, because I want it to be something that everyone who knows me reads - I think I would like to have it posted on my wall near my bed so that I could read it and remember what it says every day before I face the world.
We always say that God is in everything, that He is in control, and that He provides everything we need. We say those things, but why do we have such a hard time behaving in such a way that shows we truly have faith in those things?
I do and think and talk about a lot of things I shouldn't be doing, and thinking, and talking about if I truly have faith in the fact that God is in control. It is so easy for us all to complain about every little thing in our lives. It's so easy to get angry at other people or other situations. It is so easy to become accustomed so accustomed to extras, that we begin to believe that what we want is what we need, and that what we need is unnecessary.
This past Sunday, I decided to make another attempt at quitting smoking. It is something I really want to do, for many reasons. I obviously do not like what it does to my body, I do not like smelling like that around other people, and I know that there are some people around me who worry about me a lot. Sunday, I finally got in my head the real reason that I should be quitting, which is also the real motivation that I should be using to guide me through the difficult process.
Sunday night on my way home from church, I did not stop by the store to purchase a supply for the next day. Instead I prayed, not just for help quitting smoking, but for specific things behind my sense of "need" for something I just wanted. I prayed for patience, and strength to ignore the withdrawal. I prayed to no longer be satisfied with, or to crave, that artificial sense of "ok", and to instead seek out a true sense of peace only He can give.
Instead of seeing quitting as a loss of something I enjoy, I'm trying to see that giving up something for God is more gain than any worldly loss we can endure.
Instead of focusing on that fear of not having my security blanket in a box for the next day, I'm trying to remind myself that I've been relying on a simple drug more than I've relied on God to get me through those times that strain my patience, nerves, and tears.
I am praying that He will strengthen my faith enough to rely only on Him, because it is such a peaceful feeling to depend on Him only.
I am praying that He will open my heart to see and believe that His hand is in everything, and to help me be thankful for even those things I do not understand and would otherwise complain about.
I am thanking Him for the horrible cold I have had this past week, because it hit me right at the hardest time of the first week of quitting. Why? Because even the times that failure might have crossed my mind - realizing that I already could not breathe was such a great addiction de-motivator.
Thank you Lord for even the things that we don't realize we should be thankful for. Thank you for guiding me and helping me through this week, and every day. Help me continue to see your hand in it all.
Here is the devotion that helped me today:
Each Day I Choose
By Max Lucado
It's quiet. It's early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming. In a few moments, the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met. For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day's demands. It is now I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I'm free to choose. And so I choose.
I CHOOSE LOVE…
No occasion justifies hatred;
no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love.
Today I will love God and what God loves.
I CHOOSE JOY…
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance.
I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…
the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see
people as anything less than human beings,
created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as
anything less than an opportunity to see God.
I CHOOSE PEACE…
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.
I CHOOSE PATIENCE…
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.
Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I'll
invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the
wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment
to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new
assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.
I CHOOSE KINDNESS…
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.
I will be kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to
the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.
I CHOOSE GOODNESS…
I will go without a dollar
before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked
before I will boast. I will confess before I will
accuse. I choose goodness.
I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS…
Today I will keep my promises.
My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates
will not question my word. My wife will not
question my love. And my children will never fear
that their father will not come home.
I CHOOSE GENTLENESS…
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle.
If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer.
If I make a demand, may it only be of myself.
I CHOOSE SELF-CONTROL...
I am a spiritual being…
After this body is dead, my spirit will soar.
I refuse to let what will rot rule the eternal.
I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy.
I will be impassioned only by my faith.
I will be influenced only by God.
I will be taught only by Christ.
I choose self-control.
Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
To these I commit my day.
If I succeed, I will give thanks.
If I fail, I will seek His grace.
And then, when this day is done,
I will place my head on my pillow
and rest.
Max Lucado quote is from his book When God Whispers Your Name
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