Finding God in Ordinary Places Part 2
- Part 1: Finding God in Ordinary Places
- Part 2: Think of These Things
- Part 3: Searching the Heart
- Part 4: Failure and Forgiveness
- Part 5: Hearing His Voice
- Part 6: Meeting God at Church
- Part 7: God at Work
- Part 8: I Know God Cares
God had told me to stay with my husband. As I said in Part 1 of this series, God had given me that instruction in black and white, in a time of crisis. Just because I obeyed God did not mean I wasn’t struggling. I was spending quiet time with God and reading my Bible every day. I scoured the pages for every reference to being a wife. I thought the better I served God, the better example I was, the greater the effect it would have on my guy and he would come back to Christ.
This was a good thing to hope for but it was not the reality in our marriage. One day I was talking to God. I share everything with him and this day was no different. I picked up my journal and started writing the things that upset me about my husband, naming the negative qualities and attitudes. I was asking God ‘how do I cope with his behavior and attitude?’
God spoke deep into my heart. I had a choice. I had a choice to turn the channel. I could look at the things that were wholesome and beautiful or…
I was reminded of what I did at bedtime with my young son. He often had bad dreams and sleep disturbances. When I prayed with him at bedtime I would quote parts of Philippians 4:8 “..whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Then we would discuss things that were beautiful and pleasant for him to think of as he went to sleep.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. – Philippians 4:8
God prompted me to rewrite the list. With a pen, in darker ink, I wrote over every word on that list with all the good qualities my guy had. My focus changed from the bad things to the good qualities. He had lots of good qualities.
We all have that same choice, the choice to turn the channel, the channel we look at, the channel we listen to, the channel that runs through our heads. When I focused on Jesus and his love and his example of forgiveness, I learned to be gentler, kinder and more forgiving. I began to learn to walk in health and strength and joy. I pray that we all focus more on Jesus.
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