Today's Encouraging Word from K-Love comes from Proverbs 15:1 ("A gentle answer deflects anger, but harsh words make tempers flare.")
How does God do that? How does He know when my attitude is poor, that my nerves are frayed, and my first instinct is to snap at someone with sarcastic and biting words that hurt? DUH! He's God; He is all-knowing, all-powerful and ever-present. Thank goodness - because I wouldn't have a chance if He wasn't there to gently guide me back to Him.
I love to laugh and to be happy and to have the "fluff" of life; you know, smell the roses, and all that stuff. But there are thorns on roses, and while there might be a silver lining with every cloud, there usually comes a storm with thunder and lightning first. Right? (See the negative there?! Hold on, it'll get better, I promise.)
The thing is, God never promised us that life would be easy. In fact, He told us that we would have struggles, that we would be persecuted for our faith, that we might even be called to die for our faith. John the Baptist was beheaded, Peter was imprisoned, Stephen was stoned, and the list goes on and on. I know (some) non-believers reading this post are thinking, "Yeah, but those are characters in a book and stories from the Bible that have been repeated time and again and they're embellished." Well, guess what?! IT'S STILL HAPPENING! There are men, women and children being persecuted today in countries like China, India, Iraq, and too many more countries to name, who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. So I repeat, God never promised us life would be easy! But God did promise us that He would never leave us or forsake us!!!
I know that God is with me all the time; He sees what I'm doing, He knows what I'm saying, and I will be judged one day for all of it. I'm not proud of a lot of my behaviors/words, but I'm willing to face God on judgment day without hesitation because He has forgiven me and I have been redeemed. Jesus Christ loves me! God loves me! The Holy Spirit lives within me! That is AMAZING! And I can't think of a better reason to choose to have a positive attitude all the time.
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