“NEEKS, I WANT YOU TO TELL EVERYONE TO ENJOY THEIR LIVES!!!”
That was the perfect advice from my brother, Kevin, and I ended up overly enjoying the most delicious roasted fish and FRIED yams for dinner last night. But can you believe God showed up a few hours later saying He wanted me to enjoy my life too when, in an appointment with my son, Joshie, reading our Jesus Calling Devotional For Kids, God had this to say:
“Laughing at Troubles
She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. – Proverbs 31:25
Learn to laugh at yourself and at the world. Instead of getting bogged down in the mud of worry and fear, laugh and be happy because I AM BY YOUR SIDE. Just as parents delight in the laughter of their children, so I delight in hearing you laugh. I feel happy when you trust Me enough to ENJOY YOUR LIFE (Wink! Wink!).
Like God Himself approved of me enjoying my fried yam, y’all! LOL! That’s why these alone times with God are so crucial to us living our best lives with Him! I was back stalking my God influencer, Ceri, (NO SHAME! He is giving me the God perspective I need to take on my life!) In one of his old recordings (I call them vintage Ceri), he gave us why we can enjoy our lives: GOD GOT US!!! (Wink! Wink!) Here’s Ceri:
“I’ve been going through a lot for the past week, more than a week, but this last week has been pretty intense–physically, mentally, and emotionally. WE ALL WILL FACE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS (Like Kevin also mentioned, no one is immune from troubles-life WILL throw 10,000 punches our way!), and I found myself deep in the Psalms. Reading all these Psalms and looking at what David went through. But I stopped last night, put my Psalms down, decided to get on my knees, and prayed.
I told God I didn’t want to pray for anything other than just to thank Him. Thanks for everything. Thanks for gifting me with life. Thanks for my family. Thanks for being able to just be here. Thanks through the midst of all these things that are going on around me–the city burning–but still, thanks for being able to watch it. (Wow! Now that’s a great perspective!)
This kind of calmness came about me, where I felt more at peace than I did saying all those Psalms and other prayers I used for strength and protection.
So, my advice this morning is that sometimes, let’s just stop and give God thanks and praise. I’m not saying we don’t pray for protection and peace, but sometimes just pray and just tell God thanks. Because through all of these things we’re going through, it does forge us in the fire and it does allow us to come up even more resilient than we were when we went inside. Cast these troubles on Him. Allow him to take the burden. Allow him to take it because when I told Him thanks last night, I woke up with that refreshing clean feeling. Like okay, I don’t have nothing else to worry about. God got this! So, IN ALL THINGS, I just want to give God thanks and give God praise.
I’m with you, Ceri! God, THANK YOU!!!! (HUGE SMILE)