rebelling against low expectations
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rebelling against low expectations
Hmm.. That’s a hard one. Whenever something bad happened in my life, I take a step back from the situation and realize God is in control. Obviously he is testing me, or whatever happened, happened for a reason. I have to rely on my faith that the Lord will make something positive come out of this. This helps me keep a good attitude during hard times.
Awesome Question Brett!! when things get hard in my life, i keep telling myself this is Gods will i wouldn’t be going through this if it weren’t. and that this situation is going to be used for Gods glory either know or later down the road in my life. especially when someone wrongs you or does something harmful, i think they meant that for evil but God meant that for good. i always try to pray constantly and to think of God throughout the day when i’m going through something cause it really helps if your focused on him and know his promises. a great song that has helped me so much when i’ve gone through things is “Promises” by Sanctus Real. it’s such a great song i encourage all of you to get this song. and just pray prayer helps in so many days. and meditate on his words read his promises, read the bible. 😉
i hope this helps!!
God Bless!!!
~Madeleine
Another thing to remember is that God never promises that it will be easy… we aren’t to expect that things will be ‘just peachy’ because we are Christians. We are told to expect persecution and trials of various kinds…. but the testing of our faith (the trials) are to produce steadfastness.
Jesus died to save us, why did he save us? (for that matter why were we created?)
To glorify God.
if we are having a bad attitude how is that glorifying God?
Colossians 1:11-12 being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.
Romans 12:12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
God has a plan for each of our lives, and He will be with us ALL the way.
Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “Plans to prosper and not to harm you; plans to give you a future and a hope.
Isaiah 43:2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
In Christ, Susannah
Susannah that was so amazing thank you so much for that it was so encouraging. so many people (me included) forget that, it’s easy to just sit their in your misery and to pity yourself but God says no that’s not what i created you for!! i created you to live for me to bring me glory and joy and to spread my name throughout the world. and how can we do that when we’re sitting in the corner pitying ourselves? we can’t plain and simple i’ve tried it and it just doesn’t work. what he wants us to do is to have a good attitude to praise him amidst the pain. cause like you said Susannah he doesn’t promise good times. and really how could we grow if we didn’t have ups and downs how could we reach the world if we didn’t go through anything hard what then? he created us for this to bring him glory in the tuff times just like you said Susannah. Thank You again for what you said 🙂
~Madeleine
I’m glad that it was an encouragement to you Madeleine! These are things that I have been learning. It’s good to know that it was a blessing to someone else. 🙂
In Christ, Susannah
It sure is 🙂 and was lol. if i may ask this how old are you? just curious?
May God Bless You!!
~Madeleine
sure, im 15. what about you? 🙂
i’m also 15 😀
God Bless You!!
~Madeleine
Thank you Susannah, this is very encouraging and helpful!
Bringing wrong attitudes under control is extremely difficult. Some get a heads up in life with parents who practiced tackling these issue in their own lives. I came from a very faith-filled upbringing, where my husband came from a less than faith-filled background, so he has to work harder at a good attitude. Lack of contentment leads to grumbling and complaining, which leads to poor attitude. So we need to tackle it from its inception–hopefully before it comes out of our mouths. That can only come by refreshing your minds with the Word of God. We purpose to let no unhealthy talk leave our mouths as it does have its consequences in our lives. I think a big help when you are feeling less content is to begin by monitoring our talk. Purpose to be around people that leave you feeling positive. If that is not possible, God is so sufficient in helping to remind us and always gives us a way out. We also have eliminated the words “I’m having a bad day” and chosen to say we are “having a difficult day.” Bad seems hopeless, but difficult means you can get through it. We will never be perfected until we meet our Lord and Savior, but until then, remember we are in a difficult race always fighting the flesh. But let us not give up.
Well it’s definitely hard. Especially in practice. But I find that it helps to remind yourself that God didn’t promise it would be easy, only that he’d be there with you. It doesn’t solve anything and it doesn’t make your problems go away but it’s easier to keep a good attitude in the hard times knowing that you aren’t going through it on your own.
Sometimes I go through these depression moods, some last a few weeks to as long as a few years. I’ve learned to come to God during these tough times (and I’ve had quite a few.) Listening to Christian-related music helps me out a lot. Then I feel I can do about anything with God by my side! 🙂
Q: How do you keep a good attitude when things get hard? A: I pray.
I can only up vote it once, but if I could do it more then once, I would.
Ok… Real quick. (difficult 4 me) It’s like football. (Even if you don’t like football).
Every member of a team (church) from the coaches (church leaders), to the water boy have one purpose! To try their PERSONAL BEST to DEFEAT THEIR OPPONENT and thereby WIN THE GAME of football. Hours upon hours of studying a playbook (bible), reviewing game films (meditate on the things of God), daily practices (living out your faith), and mental preparation!(prayer, prayer,prayer) All these BEFORE you play THE GAME. Prepare you IN ADVANCE for a confident WINNING ATTITUDE. And once on the field, to score as many points as possible (bear much fruit).
But, better than that! We are walking in Christ’s Victory!! Trusting that no matter what the game (our life) is going like… No matter what the scoreboard says… We are VICTORIOUS! In Him… Knowing and remembering these things, when things get hard and difficult… WILL get you through it with a great attitude!!
Nice analogy 🙂
Over 20 years ago a good friend loosely quoted Hannah Whitall-Smith to me: “Everything that touches your life has passed through His loving hands first and meets with His approval.”
When life hits me in the face, I remember that He has allowed these circumstances and He has a plan. My best course of action is to seek His face. I give Him credit for the things I see as positives and the things that hurt. Sometimes we ‘work out’ painful stuff, but I have never found peace seeking anything other than Him.
Wow Mrs Mackelson… I needed that today thank you!
So True.
Pray. Pray. Pray. And then act, just as Nehemiah did.
And we can’t just pray and then expect God to magically bestow a good attitude upon us-a hard lesson I have personally learned-but we have to INTENTIONALLY seek ways to have a good attitude. We have to intentionally not complain when our best friend texts us. She had a bad day so she goes on about it, and it is the easiest thing in the world to come back and go on and on and on about your struggles. But here’s the thing: instead of dragging both of you down further, we can ENCOURAGE them back, and create more joy in ourselves and bring God more glory. Instead of sharing complaints with family or friends, we must encourage each other in Christ. This is not easy, especially when there’s a million ways to justify the complaining. “But it really is a bad day!!” But it’s all part of taking up our cross and dying daily as Christians. My family is moving soon, and I am so tempted sometimes to bring attention to the way I feel about my issues, instead of listening when my friends need me. The closer we draw to Christ, however, the less selfishly we think.
Nehemiah cried out to God on behalf of the Israelites and himself, tore his clothes, and fasted. He sought counsel, and then comforted by God and trusting his promises, he went about his day as a man who HAD cried out to God. He was calm, patient, and did not complain.
Complaining and general grouchiness is just my automatic way of dealing with hard times, and the things above I’ve been being taught have brought me closer to Christ. 🙂
This has been something I’ve been processing lately. Its really really easy for me to get stuck in my head and have a “woe is me” attitude and stuff, and then I just lay in bed and throw a pity party and think about what a horrible person I am and its just this super horrible cycle. People have been saying some amazing things on here; read the Bible, pray, seek his presence, and they’re totally on point. But I’ve found for me, the issue isn’t usually knowing what to do, but having the motivation to do it.
One of the best things I’ve learned to do is during the good times, the easy times, the ‘meh’ times, build a habit of daily prayer/Bible study so that when you hit the hard stuff, you already know what to do and you don’t have to work as hard to find the motivation. I’m definitely still working on this part.
A few months ago, I found myself in a really hard spot in my life, and I didn’t have the motivation to do anything but feel sorry for myself and waste time on social media. I used social media as an ‘out’ of sorts for spending time in the Bible and in prayer. I had a really close friend point this out to me, and she suggested that I delete all the apps off my phone, and log out of everything on my computer, so whenever I would try to get on to something, I would be reminded that I needed to spend time with God. It actually helped so much, so if you’re looking for motivation like me, I would definitely suggest it!
God bless, in the hard times and the easy ones!
Grace
Well, to be honest, I don’t always have a good attitude, but I do try!!
Prayer is key for sure. Praying helps align your heart with God and can change your perspective on what is going on around you.
When we read the bible we see that God has promised to take care of us and to do good things for us. (Jer. 29:10-13, Matt 10:29-31, Rom 8:28, Ps 139:17-18, James 1:17, 2 Cor 9:8-10, 1 Pet 5:10, Lam 3:17-29, Ps 34:1-10, …) Sometimes we don’t understand how a certain situation will end up working out that way, but we have to trust Him!!
Also, I keep a journal of blessings and good things that I have seen God do in my life. It is a good reference for me when my heart is weak and I want to give up and loose hope. I can look back and see God’s love for me, His kindness, patience, and faithfulness in that past. I know that He will do it again!
I think it takes strong willpower, a deep wanting to keep on going even when it’s not easy. That also includes putting your faith in God, and realizing that if he made everything easy, then doing Hard Things wouldn’t be hard.
When things get hard, I find my peace in the Bible, in all the promises and words that God left for us in there.
Two passages that come to my mind on the hard times are Hebrews 12:1-12 and James 1:2-4. By reading them I can see that there is something greater than the suffering and difficulty of the moment. Also, Jesus said that things would not be always easy (John 16.33), so it helps me remember that it is “OK” to go through hardships sometimes.
I try to face these trials as huge opportunities to learn more about humility, faithfulness and dependence on God. There are things that you can only learn during the hard times, and I always find myself more encouraged and stronger after them.
Hope it help you go through hard times too.
God bless you all!
I was reading a Christian book and there was a hole chapter in it about this subject it said, just when your about to get angry thank God for one of the blessings in your life. It really works.
~Renee
I’ve been struggling with being positive for a long time and I came to a conclusion. If you need to cry something out, then do it. But always keep in mind that God will never give you too much to carry, He has everything under control and He gave that very struggle to you for a reason. One more thing, don’t try to find peace anywhere else but in Him, by reading his word and by talking to Him.
It may take some time to start thinking like that but its a lot easier when you’re constantly aware of His presence.
T’was my pleasure 🙂
Now I wish there was more than one “like” button.
I love music that reinforces my faith, a good attitude, etc. So when I get unhappy, I listen to good music (music really strongly influences my mood).
I usually listen to music.