Everything in life has to do with perspective. How you look at something, determines how you will react to it. If you look for the negative in a situation, you will surely find it. It's so easy to find the bad in anything, it's our nature to do it. What makes us different, what makes us stronger, is looking for the good, the positive, in life. It's up to us to choose which way we will live our lives.
I've heard it said that who we really are, is not who we are everyday, when things are normal, and comfortable. The real us, comes out when the unexpected happens. The unhappy, uncomfortable things, that happen on the spur of the moment, bring out who we really are. We can put on a happy face to the world, and fool everybody into thinking we've got it all figured out. But, we can't fool ourselves. We can't fool God either. He knows us far better than even we know ourselves.
Because God loves us, He wants us to be the best we can be. He will allow things to come into our lives to 'shake us up' every now and then. They may look like bad things at the time, if we are faking our way through life, if we are looking for the negative in everything. But, if we are being true to ourselves, and trying to see everyday life as a good thing, they don't look so bad after all. Only through God can we see bad as good, negative as positive, down as up. When we become a part of God's family, we inherit His attitude. His way of looking at things. We see through His eyes, not our own. Because of this, life becomes an adventure, not something to dread.
There are two different kinds of people. The first, when 'bad' things suddenly come up in their lives, they panic. They worry, usually about how it will affect 'them'. They can't see past their own concerns. They only see what's going on right now, right in front of them. When we are worried, and scared, and looking at these things negatively, we can't learn from them. These kinds of people only try to figure out how 'they' can solve the problem, and get it over with as soon as possible.
The second kind of people, when 'bad' things happen, stay focused, looking for the reason behind the situation. These people don't rely on 'themselves' to solve the problem. They go immediately to the only One that can solve it, God. If we give a 'bad' situation to God when it happens, He will help us to see past the worry, and the panic. He will help us to see the lesson to be learned from even the scary things in life. When we realize that He is in control, that this thing is no surprise to Him, then there is no reason to worry, or panic. When faced with a life or death situation, there is calmness, and peace. We sit back and watch what He is doing, and let Him take care of things.
Recently, as my last post shows, I was in what I thought to be one of those life or death situations. As I was laying on the bed in the ER, with IV's in both arms, and struggling for every breath, I thought that this was my time to die. I've often thought about when I will die, as I'm sure everyone does at one time or another. As a Christian, I know that when I leave this body, I will immediately be in the presence of the Lord. So, it's not really been my death I feared, it was the dying that I was dreading. But as I lay there, waiting for my last breath, I suddenly noticed that I wasn't scared. I had a wonderful peace inside me. There are no words to describe this peace. As the Bible says, it's beyond our understanding. I know now, that when my time actually does come, I will peacefully slip from this life, into real life. Life everlasting.
I know this has been a long post, but my point is the same as always. If you do not know Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you can't have this peace. You might try to fool yourself and go to church, and sing the songs, and put on the happy face. But, when it comes your time to die, will you have this peace? Or will there be absolute fear, knowing that you will be separated from the God that created you, and loves you, and wants you to spend your eternity with Him, not in Hell?
Great post. I agree with all you have said. I have really never been in a life or death situation, but when the time comes I do hope that the peace you speak of fills me. I have always said I never feard death, but it is the road getting there that I dont look forwarad too. My first husband passed away from IPF the last 2 weeks of his life he struggles for breath day and night. It was so hard to watch. He never fough what was going on, and I am certain, without a doubt, the nurse that cared for him the last night of his life was an angel. God is certainly good to us. We have so much to praise and worship and thank him for. Thanks for your post
ReplyDeleteSandi