This article took me awhile to put to post because I had to look back on the weekend and examine my attitude. You see in Luke 9:23-25, Jesus said this:
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?
You see, most of the time I am a rather easy-going guy who is very focused on the needs of others, but for the past few weeks I have been “off my feed”. My mood has been rather morose and, instead of taking much more time than I have with my God, I have been fighting my way out of the hole on my own by my own strength. Go ahead, ask me how that worked out. It got so bad that I split logs for over an hour using my new splitting axe and was feeling exhausted but not emotionally or spiritually renewed. Truth be told, I was feeling worse, and I had no explanation for my foul mood. Natalie asked me what was wrong, but all I could say was, “I don’t know, I’m just mad at everything and at nothing”. I had forfeited my spiritual and emotional peace for a darkness that was of the world. This was not doing anyone any good.
The next night, I opened up to Natalie about how I was feeling, and it was then that I realized my emotions were based on selfish dark thoughts. The people around me were all loving and supportive, and I am guessing that Natalie was praying for peace and contentment. As I set my head down on the pillow, I felt at ease because He was washing away the anger, and, as I took some much-needed time to converse with the Father, I gave up the stressors that had taken hold of my thoughts and came into a place of His calm. Give up the darkness to the Light and let Him take control of the future. God wants only the best for us, but we must get out of our own way to see His blessings. I am at peace today, praise the Lord, and tomorrow I start my holidays.
Pastor Todd is going to be on holidays for the next couple weeks, so we will be welcoming our own Rev. Glenn Reeder this week. The team will be working together on a series concentrating on the work of the Holy Spirit. Please plan to join us either in person or online at 10:30 AM this Sunday. The service will be broadcast online on our website (https://www.mainavefellowship.ca/socialplatforms), or you are more than welcome to join us in person at 402 Main Ave. W in Sundre, AB.
Blessings,
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