Posts Tagged: moods
“Being a Good Companion to Myself”
“If you can’t stand being by yourself, don’t inflict your presence on others.” (Source unknown, but it’s not me!)
My affirmation for yesterday was as follows:
“Today, by God’s grace, I am thinking a little more clearly, running a little faster, working a little harder, speaking a little more kindly, and enjoying my life a little more.”
However, I did not do well with living out the affirmation. I was cranky and unappreciative and hard to be with, especially late in the day.
The excuses for why I was so out-of-sorts don’t matter. Even if there were reasons, that doesn’t matter much. The hard fact of the out-of-sort-ness itself is the main thing. I am responsible for my moods. I am also responsible for not spreading my crankiness to everyone or anyone else.
I am reminded of what a great twentieth-century writer of spiritual devotionals said. “Moods don’t go by praying; they go by kicking.”
So, today, I am kicking my bad mood to the curb. That’s where the trash is picked up. I will not inflict my internal garbage on others today. Here is my affirmation for today:
“Today, by God’s grace, I am acting out being a person with whom I want to spend time. Since my self is with me everywhere and all the time I go, this is a good plan. This will also make me nicer to be around for others.”
The Apostle Paul writes to believers about how they are to live. The verbs for how Christ-followers are to act are all in the present tense in Greek, which emphasizes continual, ongoing action. Here is what Paul says:
“Eph. 4:25 ¶ Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another.
Eph. 4:26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Eph. 4:27 and give no opportunity to the devil.
Eph. 4:28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Eph. 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.
Eph. 4:30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Eph. 4:31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
Eph. 4:32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Eph. 5:1 ¶ Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
Eph. 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice.”
The truly Christian life is not an experience or a spasm. It is a daily and lifelong commitment to a Christ-like way of living.
I hope that you are in a kind mood—as opposed to kind of a mood—today, dear Reader. However, if you’re not in a kind mood, straighten up and fly right! There is no place for cranky-butts in the Kingdom of God. “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17, English Standard Version)
Moods Leave when I Kick them Out!
I was in a bad mood. The reasons (can I even call them reasons??) are not important. Moods rarely, if ever have reasons. They do, however, have consequences. My mood compromised my ability to fully appreciate worship, my wife, the lovely weather, and everything else in the universe.
One of the things that helped me greatly was a quote from Oswald Chambers (I believe, from his book, My Utmost for His Highest). I have italicized (thus, emphasis mine) the section that especially spoke to me.
“In your patience possess ye your souls. — Luke 21:19
When a man is born again, there is not the same robustness in his thinking or reasoning for a time as formerly. We have to make an expression of the new life, to form the mind of Christ. “Acquire your soul with patience” (rv). Many of us prefer to stay at the threshold of the Christian life instead of going on to construct a soul in accordance with the new life God has put within. We fail because we are ignorant of the way we are made, we put things down to the devil instead of our own undisciplined natures. Think what we can be when we are roused!
There are certain things we must not pray about — moods, for instance. Moods never go by praying, moods go by kicking. A mood nearly always has its seat in the physical condition, not in the moral. It is a continual effort not to listen to the moods which arise from a physical condition; never submit to them for a second. We have to take ourselves by the scruff of the neck and shake ourselves, and we will find that we can do what we said we could not. The curse with most of us is that we won’t. The Christian life is one of incarnate spiritual pluck.”
Are you like me? Do you need to do some mood-kicking?
DOWN TO EARTH BELIEVER
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- “The Process in Miracles and the Miracle of Process” March 11, 2024“2 Kings 5:1 Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man with his master and in high favor, because by him the LORD had given victory to Syria. He was a mighty man of valor, but he was a leper. 2 Now the Syrians on one of their raids […]
- “The Power of Encouragement—Even for Old People” March 10, 2024“But encourage each other every day while it is ‘today.’ Help each other so none of you will become hardened because sin has tricked you.” (Hebrews 3:13, New Century Version) Yesterday, I was walking at a nearby park. There was a large group of young people some of whom were running while other young people […]
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- “Delighting in Being Told What to Do?!?” February 23, 2024“Psa. 112:1 Praise the LORD! Blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in his commandments! 2 His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. 3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures […]
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- “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked” January 1, 2024Each year, I try to come up with one word or a short phrase for what I intend to work on in the upcoming year. 2024 is “The Year of Becoming Un-Planked”. What?!! What does that even mean? So glad that you asked! Jesus said to his disciples, “Why do you look at the speck […]
- “Searching for the Noble One” December 26, 2023My wife and I were reading Luke, chapter 2 on Christmas Day. Luke 2 talks about the shepherds being told to look for this very special child—in fact, this King—in a stable. I prefer the word “barn”. I grew up on a farm. I know what a barn is. A stable is entirely too biblical […]
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