I told myself this week would be devoted to Christmas-related posts.  But as I prayed about today’s post, something God spoke to me yesterday kept coming to mind.  But that has nothing to do with Christmas, I said.  And I waited.  And nothing else came.  So I reckon by the end of this post He’ll give me a Christmas-related twist…:)

I was stewing yesterday.  Nothing huge but I was irritated by something that had happened, and it kept spinning in my mind.  And as it spun, I kept rehearsing—and adding onto—all the reasons why I was irritated.  Then, right in the middle of the spin cycle, this verse inserted itself:

“…for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure.” ~ Philippians 2:13


I stopped what I was doing and let the verse spin slowly again.  Ever do that?  You know it’s God because it totally tilted everything, so you put your world on pause to grasp it?  And once I grasped it…I laughed.  I know I’m crazy but I actually love when God gets me straight.  I knew exactly what He was saying:

In this and every situation, I am at work in you.  You might not like it.  You might find it difficult.  But it’s for My good pleasure.  Not yours.


That word from above was all I needed.  Spin cycle over.  Mood changed.  Mind off of myself and onto God.  Perspective.

And here’s the Christmas twist…  (Nope, I absolutely didn’t plan this!)  That Philippians verse comes a few verses after this:

“Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.”  ~ Philippians 2:5-7


That’s Christmas, Jesus emptying Himself, coming to earth, putting on human flesh.  And I’m to have that same “emptying” attitude, not thinking of self, not concerned with my pleasure, but God’s.  What a blessed lesson to receive the week before Christmas.

Do you love it when God checks your attitude?  Does a word from Him make ALL the difference?

Views: 27

Reply to This

© 2024   Created by Raliegh Jones Jr..   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service