I was writing notes for my devotionals the other day, and thanks to The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, I came up with a happy and healthy theme.
Categories
Happy and Healthy
Category: Psalm
It can be difficult to have a good attitude when things just aren’t going according to our plans. That’s why how to watch your words and thoughts is so important!
We want things our own way. We think we have things all figured out and if everyone got on the same plan (our plan), life would be so much better.
But life never goes according to our plans, because we have nearly eight billion other individuals with their own ideas of how things should be. Some of their plans are as legitimate as ours. Some of them are evil (and yes, you’ll have disagreements about what is and isn’t evil). Some may have nice, if not naïve plans. And yes, some have plans to survive what we may find unimaginable.
Once in a while, I like to sketch out a sermon or a bible passage. I liked how this Psalm 145 sketch turned out and posted it in 2006.
I like this passage because it is full of joy. After all, it is a song of praise. And it speaks about teaching good news from one generation to the next. That is a theme that has resonated with me over the years. It is why I still love to work in children’s ministry.
We hear and read news about the threat of wars and verbal barbs about someone who did this and said that. It captures our attention and makes us wonder what the future is. So it is good to remind us there is a future for peacemakers.
Look at those who are honest and good, for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.
Psalm 37:37 NLT
Sadly, those who work for peace don’t grab the headlines as much as those who embrace conflict. We don’t tend to qualify what a person is saying or doing by whether it is honest or good. We like a good fight and we especially like the person who shares our views to put the other side in their place.
But what if the future belongs to those who promote peace? Indeed, there are only two choices in this world; those who work towards war and those who work towards peace.
We look forward to peace though it is in short supply. Remember a few months ago when we spoke about peace on earth?
Are All Conflicts Necessary?
We have values that we are willing to fight for, and we should. But what about those that don’t really matter? If we paused to think about why we may feel angry and ready to fight, is that skirmish with our neighbor really worth fighting for?
Are there some battles that are only jeopardizing our future? Most of us have memories of being angry at someone, but we can’t remember why. The emotion lasts longer than the actual offense.
If we are honest with others and show good to others, perhaps that will go much further than our animosity towards others. Occasionally, it may even make the news for a good, worthy reason.
Consider if that conflict is necessary today. Pause to consider if we are less angry at that person in front of us and angrier at a similar person that did us wrong years ago. Be honest. Be good and remember there is a future for those who love peace.