When I start my day with quiet time for prayer, reading God's Word and personal reflection, my day is better than when I don't start it this way. It doesn't matter what happens during the day, I just seem to be able to "handle" everything better when I have sought that spiritual connection first.
One part of my morning "time with God" routine is reading the day's message from my Joyce Meyer "Starting Your Day Right" calendar. Today's message made me realize that I have perhaps been doing my morning routine with the wrong intention...to please God. I'll quote the whole thing:
I love those who love me, and those who seek me early and diligently shall find me. (Proverbs 8:17, Amplified Bible)
Our motives are misplaced if we think we read the Bible and pray to please God or to keep from making Him mad at us. Every single thing that God tells us to do, He tells us to do so to bless ourselves. He doesn't ask us to devote ourselves to study and prayer for Him; it is for us. The good life is our choice.
The good life is our choice. Think about that. Does it make sense? How can the good life be our choice when so much of what we experience is out of our control. Guess what? Everything we experience is out of our control! The only thing we can control are the choices we make.
When we choose to pursue conscious contact with God, seeking him through our own free will, we can experience those "fruits of the spirit" that Paul wrote about to the Galatians...love, joy, peace, patience, kindess, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
And aren't those the things that make it a good life?
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