Giving My Best: A 5-Day Devotional When Life Is Hard by Dr. Michele C. WalkerSample

Day 2: Flip the Script

Ecclesiastes 3:11 (NLT)

God has made everything beautiful for its own time.

Life is a gift to be treasured. It’s imperfect, with joys and heartbreak occurring, at times, simultaneously, yet worthy of being celebrated. We can learn to give God our best in our tough circumstances by changing the way we talk and think about what's happening to us. We can flip the script.

Every experience in life has a flip side - God's side. He has the best view of our situations and makes everything work for His honor and our good over time (Romans 8:28). Surgery was not what we would have chosen but there was insurance to pay for it. Money is tight but thankfully there is employment. Our children repeat the same mistakes but still seek guidance and comfort. There's too much work to do and too little time but God graciously provides both work and time.

What we're dealing with doesn't have to determine our outlook or our outcome. God is at work when we have problems. His Word says that He "has made everything beautiful." That means there is some kind of good to be found in our difficulty. We don’t have to wait for the problem to be over to recognize His handiwork. We can experience beauty while we struggle, feel pain, be disappointed, and be uncertain. We can look up and be encouraged despite how we feel or how things look.

My work and personal life stressors are pretty high right now so I need to plan time for self-care. My perspective always improves when I do small things that make me feel good. What about you? What is God telling you about your situation and the way you may be looking at it? It's a good idea to write down what we sense God is saying to us. Later on, those very words can encourage us through similar difficulties.

While life is imperfect, God remains perfect and has the right resolution to everything we face. We can give Him our best by changing the words we use to think about and talk about our circumstances, and by making plans that keep us on course.

Let’s pray:

Lord, when we're dealing with tough situations we sometimes get stuck there. Only You can teach us to see things your way. Give us insight that helps us see the beauty in everything we experience today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.