A little soul searching

Maybe the time has come for all of us to spend some time standing in front of the mirror, self very much included. We use this site for discussions on a wide variety of subjects and sometimes the discussions turn to debates and get lively to say the least. There is nothing wrong with adults discussing sports, politics, religion, hunting, and life in general. There is nothing abnormal over disagreeing and even debating. God gave us all our very own DNA and each of us the ability to think and form our own ideas and conclusions.

My point of this post stems from observing the negative attitudes here of late concerning our country, the world we live in, and life in general. I will be the first to raise my hand and agree with all that I am seeing things happen in this country that I never ever thought I would see. Daily there are circumstances and situations that I don't agree with, don't like, and some even make me angry. How many know that there is such a thing as righteous anger? LOL However, life is far too short to allow those circumstances and situations to take away my joy. The joy of living should not be governed by who holds what political office, who wins a sporting event, or the actions of others that we have no control over. No question that these things have an effect on our lives, but we have the ability to rise above that effect and continue to live with the joy of the Lord in our heart.

I am optimistic about life, those who know me well would agree that over my lifetime I've had plenty of reasons to live a very bitter negative life. I don't because I choose not to. We all have a choice to be either over comers of the daily problems of life or to wallow in self pity and allow them to make our life miserable. We have a choice to be stuck in the mud of despair or to keep running with our eye on the ultimate prize. God gave us that freedom, the freedom to choose and He then suggests the best choice. [Deut. 30:19] God says choose life, Jesus said that He came to give life and to give it more abundantly. [John 10:10] Nowhere in those scriptures is there any mention of all of this changing depending on the politics of the country, or how the economy is doing, or who sits on the Supreme Court.

In this secular world it is very easy to become caught up in the doom and gloom negative thinking that slowly eats away at our joy. I can tell you from experience that fifty years of this life passes in the blink of an eye. All of sudden you find yourself past seventy, as I am, and the obituary's list more people younger than older than you are. My prayer for all who read this post is that you will spend some time, as I have, evaluating whether or not you are allowing the world and the enemy to rob you of your joy. The enemy cannot do that unless you allow him to. The choice is ours, it is a God given right that no one can take from us unless we allow them to.

Choose joy, choose life to the fullest, choose to walk with Christ not the world.

Blessings,

ZG

Man, that was wonderfully done- i think there will be many including me pondering our decisions after reading this. Thank you for putting it in perspective!

Well said sir, well said.

Good post ZG...

ZG, I maintain joy in a life in Christ, but it's important to remember that that is where we put our hope and our trust. We don't trust in anything else, especially the government. It is because of that, that I can maintain a joy in my life despite my belief that this country is headed down the drain. Those two are completely separate. While I don't share Tip's position that God doesn't care about us, I do believe God when he said it will continue to get worse until the end. Therefore when I see it get worse, I understand what is happening. But make no mistake, I don't expect that our country will turn to God or ever achieve the greatness it once had.

I think we need to understand that the fate of our country is independent of our own fate. If our confidence is tied to the United States government, I'm afraid we will be disappointed. God promised that he would never leave or forsake us, but that promise does not extend to our country.

Excellent dissertation ZG,
It's too easy to forget what really matters, and focus on temporary things.

AMEN ZG! Wise words and thank you for the reminder. All to often we conform to the things of this world when we should transform our minds.

As always, wise words ZG. Something to think about for sure!

AMEN again ZG. Life is to short not to be open to the gospel words. That is why countries and people are failing, drinking, drugs etc. When they want a different life and a better life then they need to really think about life that GOD gave us. Spend eternity in Heaven or Hell, the choice is ours I pray for lost souls to come to Christ to live eternally in Heaven. You do not get their by good works. Thanks again ZG and Happy Valentines Day to all.

Well said.

Good post, ZG. I love the philosophy.

I agree with sky hawk. I still have faith and trust in God. I have none in the rabble that presently controls this country and its (limited) future. That doesn't mean that I'm 'gloom and doom' ... I think it means I'm a realist.

That said, I DO need to focus more on the good stuff and be thankful for what I have instead of dwelling on all the evil.

Much appreciated.

While being more positive and joyful is great I think there are a number of people that don’t function that way. I believe that God made us all and we function the way we were designed. As a Christian I do recognize that there is a lot of joy in this life but there is also a heap of sorrow. If you follow the teachings of the Bible it seems to me that this world is progressively getting worst and worst until it ends. We can all debate about how that will happen but in the end its pretty bleak. Our promise of joy is to come after this world and what joy we experience here is only a small taste of what is to come.
I’m glad we have for a lack of a better term a group of pessimistic folks that see the dark side of things and voice warnings to the rest of us. I think these are the folks that spur us to action and help us keep evil at bay. They sound the alarm early and rally the troops to battle and drag the masses to the fight.
It’s all well in good to try to be optimistic and see the good but sometimes its fine to recognize if someone keeps giving you a heap of manure there ain’t necessarily a pony coming your way.

Amen brother. Will keep track of this thread and do a constant soul search. Especially during this Lenten season.
God Bless us all!

Zach's Grandpa said:

and the obituary's list more people younger than older than you are.

ZG

Click to expand...

Now THAT is going to stick with me for a while.

And like Moose pointed out, there are some knowledgeable people on here and in the world whom have called things long before they happened, accurately. Negative things.

I liken it to a coach of a team during a game. They often know early on whether the team is going to have a chance to win or not. The later the game drags on, the more likely they know the outcome. It gets to a point where only a miracle (or multiple) will mean victory. Of course teams still play to the end, but by then it's just symbolic. Some people see us "losing", and possibly now to the point that it is "lost...over....done".

I have no problem with folks having that understanding, and expressing it. In fact, I appreciate it.

Well said


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm in the camp of folk who are VERY disappointed in the direction our country is headed. I see all the blood spilled and sacrifices made by my forefathers 240 years ago being not just given away, but being THROWN away. These liberal minded folks are denying our children and our childrens children the rights and opportunities that this country was set up under. This is something they have NO right to do, but are doing it anyway. I often pray to God that he will intervene somehow, and not allow these folks to destroy this country, which was founded on His statutes. I try to put my faith in God, and know that whatever happens, He is still in control. In that sense, the future is good.

Soilman said:

I'm in the camp of folk who are VERY disappointed in the direction our country is headed. I see all the blood spilled and sacrifices made by my forefathers 240 years ago being not just given away, but being THROWN away. These liberal minded folks are denying our children and our childrens children the rights and opportunities that this country was set up under. This is something they have NO right to do, but are doing it anyway. I often pray to God that he will intervene somehow, and not allow these folks to destroy this country, which was founded on His statutes. I try to put my faith in God, and know that whatever happens, He is still in control. In that sense, the future is good.

Click to expand...

Im in this camp also. I despise what the progressives are doing, and its pure evil. They lie, indoctrinate and manipulate to achieve their goals. That being said, I believe we still need to stand up for whats right. Our founding fathers could have said "well its written that its going to get worse so what the point, lets just ride the wave until the end" no, they didn't say that, they fought for this country and succeeded, by Gods will I might add. They were only 3%, funny how that adds up. As to the OP, still a good post and thanks for that.

Know that will get a man to thinking about his life and life in general,don't think that could of been said any better,thank you sir for your wise words.

Very well said ! Thank You !

Thanks brother I needed to hear this today !

Love this quote...........Choose joy, choose life to the fullest, choose to walk with Christ not the world................and try to live by it. Thanks ZG

I am often accused of being oblivious to the greater issues of this world as I tend to put them in the large pile of things I can do little about and leave them to God. I choose happiness and joy every morning that I get up and put my feet on the floor.......I does not mean I am ignorant or unaware, just that I chose to enjoy life.

jim67 said:

Im in this camp also. I despise what the progressives are doing, and its pure evil. They lie, indoctrinate and manipulate to achieve their goals. That being said, I believe we still need to stand up for whats right. Our founding fathers could have said "well its written that its going to get worse so what the point, lets just ride the wave until the end" no, they didn't say that, they fought for this country and succeeded, by Gods will I might add. They were only 3%, funny how that adds up. As to the OP, still a good post and thanks for that.

Click to expand...

When do we stand up for this country? when have we had enough? I am sick to death of like minded folks standing around and letting things get worse! I place my faith in god and hope that he leads people into leadership roles to turn things around and make a stand.

Well said ZG. I think it's important to be informed and prepared but to live life with hope and a healthy level of optimism in the future for you and your family. If you let yourself get beat down by what is going on in this country, then the opposition has already won. Faith, family, and friends are what matters, let the chips fall where they may.