Monday Morning Devotion-March 10, 2014
Divine Nutrients
A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22
I got up on the wrong side of the bed one day recently. Ever hear that old saying?
The Lovely Susette was fully entitled to bring me coffee in my cup with the writing on it that says:
“Sometimes I wake up Grumpy and sometimes I let him sleep.”
She didn’t for two reasons: First, I don’t have a cup with that inscription although it would probably be appropriate more times than I care to admit. Second, I usually get my own first cup of coffee.
But, in this instant I was feeling pressure from an overcrowded schedule. We are getting ready for a trip and there is lots to do before we leave. Sometimes, I catch myself, I reacting badly to that pressure.
No reason to take that mood out on anyone else, especially the one I love the most, TLS, or anybody for that matter. What I should do first is breakfast on Divine Nutrients.
So what are these Divine Nutrients. Well, they are what leads to a “cheerful heart which is good medicine.” As we approach the pressures of the world with a cheerful heart we are taking a pathway that leads to success and good health.
As Sarah Young writes: “A joyful heart will improve your health---spiritually, emotionally, and physically.”
So how does this happen. Well, Jesus says we have every reason to be cheerful because He has overcome the world. He has conquered it and deprived it of power to harm you through His victory on the cross. He’s on our side. Nothing can defeat us even when we wake up grumpy.
We cannot be separated from His love. As believers we know this. So why do we become Mr. or Mrs. Grump. Why don’t we remember this in tough times. Well, usually we do, but often not until we have subjected ourselves to needless worry and often made everyone around us as miserable as we are.
Does that resonate with you? Surely I’m not the only one who gets uptight and develops a case of short-term memory when worldly pressures catch me in their grip and tighten the vise.
Sometimes we need to do some things to help God help us out of our predicament. Like if we want to follow a healthier diet we can’t just expect it to magically appear on our table. We need to shop for the proper food and eschew unhealthy eating.
The same with Divine Nutrients we can’t expect to access them without doing our part. I came across a pretty good explanation of this in my “Storylines” class readings. At first it startled me, then I read further and began to understand.
“The truth is God has created us with desires that cannot be exclusively fulfilled in Him. Those who believe God will fulfill all their needs by a relationship with Him are well-meaning but theologically incorrect.”
Whoa, wait just a “cotton-picking moment here” (might as well hit you with all my old, out-moded, cliches that haven’t been used in years). What I’m stopping for here is, Hey, isn’t God all-powerful? Can’t he handle all these pressure-packed problems? Well, yes…but. Read on!
“God created us with a need for food and water, but He doesn’t become food and water. He created us with a need for community, but He doesn’t become multiple people and invite us to go bowling.”
“In other words, God created us with desires He fulfills through means He provides. Or better said, all our needs are not met in Christ, though they may be met by Christ.”
So yes God will help us through. He has those Divine Nutrients to help us go through, around or over these problems and have a healthy, happy approach to life again. But we need to seek them. We need to call on Him. Pray. Ask for them and be open to the ways in which God will bestow them on us.
I was looking at some ways we can be cheerful. Ways that help God make sure the Divine Nutrients have become a part of our diet. I found these on-line on what was not necessarily a religious or faith-oriented site (wikiHow)---but make sense and I feel would be God-approved. I have made changes and paraphrased to fit our topic.
1) Be comfortable in your own skin: God made us who we are. He didn’t mess up even though we are not perfect. He can enable us to reach our full potential and overcome problems.
2) Help someone who is in need: This will help put our problem in perspective. This could be as simple as a smile or an encouraging word to make both parties more cheerful.
3) Look on the bright side, but be honest: Sure you want to stay positive, but this doesn’t mean take a “pie-in-the-sky” approach and not admit there is a problem. Call on God and stay confident as you work it out together.
4) Listen: Hear what others are saying listen to their thoughts and analyze them. But, above all listen to what God is saying.
5) Keep an open mind: Sometimes we close off a God-delivered solution because we don’t think it is the way he would choose to solve it. Remember David’s family didn’t think God would choose a shepherd-boy to become king.
6) Try to stay healthy: Sleep well. Eat right. This gives you the energy to better deal with problems and have that cheerful heart that guides you.
7) Don’t put people down: Optimism is contagious. Don’t bring out the negatives. Those with problems already know these. Encourage and cheer them on. God will do the same for you.
8) Don’t judge too harshly: Appearances can be deceiving. God could send the shabbiest, homeliest, plainest looking person your way with the answers you need. Beware because you may “entertain angels unaware.”
9) Finally, do something: Don’t just sit around and mope, commiserate or play the victim. Get out and do something using those Divine Nutrients sent your way.
Any or all of these could be the way (s) God chooses to instill those Divine Nutrients in you that will lead to a cheerful heart.
Monday Prayer: Lord, send those Divine Nutrients our way and prepare our hearts to receive them. Amen.
***author’s note: Every morsel will taste better when those Divine Nutrients are part of the recipe.