Friday, October 4, 2013

A Journey of Perspective Day 4: 31 Days of Change






Discouragement.....
Disappointment.....
They leave a bad taste in our mouths don't they?
The very words bring feelings up within us. 

Sometimes if I were to be completely transparent here,
which I am, by the way,
transparent, I mean.
I would have to say that sometimes I am just that;
discouraged and once in a while.....
disappointed in things, in people.

I didn't used to think so.
I pretty much deceived myself into
thinking that I just didn't get disappointed. 
But transparent truth be told,
because I am ya know,
being transparent that is.....
sometimes people let me down.
Their decisions and choices sometimes make me sad.
I had to come to terms with this.

I wanted to be the kind of person that never got disappointed,
but I'm not, at least not all the time.
I find that for the most part,
disappointment doesn't come 
easily to me.
It takes continuous actions, 
in a certain direction, 
by the same person, 
to really get me to that point.  
But sometimes it happens.

So how do we combat that?
When life just lets us down?
People behave badly. continuously.

Perspective.
Godly.
Spirit-Filled Perspective.
It is the stuff of legends.
Real legends.

Like Ruth.
She was in a very difficult situation.
She was a widow with no sons to take care of her.
Her future looked grim.

She could have quit.
She could have let disappointment and discouragement get her down,
but instead she followed her heart.
And Naomi.

Isn't it interesting how in both the instances
of the widow and the oil, and Ruth
that they both followed people
they thought could help them?
Godly people; that perhaps,
knew more than they did.

In Ruth's case it was of course different.
There was grief involved.
It always makes things different.

(For those of you new here,
and would like to read my own story of grief,
one of the many testimonies of God's faithfulness
to me, you can go here.)

But Ruth had walked through life with her
husband, and Naomi.
She knew this woman.
Her character.

Sometimes Naomi gets a bad rap.
Why?
Well, at times in this story,
she has a pretty grim outlook.
Her perspective,
less than optimal I'd say,
BUT she knew God.
That makes ALL the difference.
God has the plan ya know.
He's the one who knows what needs to happen.
Sometimes its unconventional.
Sometimes it seems weird,
what the Father might ask us to do.
But God has been reminding me A LOT lately,
that His ways are just not my ways.  

Isaiah 55:8

New International Version (NIV)
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
I must trust in that.

Discouragement, disappointment
sometimes they happen,
or at least they try to.
But a Godly perspective like Ruth had
is very important.

Ruth 1:16-18

New International Version (NIV)
16 But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.17 Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you and me.” 18 When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.

Ruth was not in the least bit worried about what others
would think.
She was following Naomi.
The Mother of her husband.
Her Mother-in-law and her friend.

She not only followed her, 
but she listened to her, 
knowing she followed God.

Good Godly counsel is a great way to gain 
some perspective as well.

Let's explore that more tomorrow,
shall we?

Thanks so much for being here.
I truly appreciate you ~~ 

Have a Blessed and Beautiful Day ~~


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