Tag: choose

Voices in the Wilderness

Jennifred Jones

Have you ever had something you thought was important to say, that needed to be said, that no one else was saying, but needed to be heard?

It would help people if they could hear it, it could change the direction of their life, but they were nowhere near you, you didn’t even know who they were, you couldn’t summon them to hear your words, and frankly, they probably wouldn’t even recognize what you had to say was for them.

Just a voice…a voice out in the wilderness -being absorbed only by the mossy bark on the trees and getting soaked up by the fallen leaves and tramped on.

We live in a big wilderness it seems, yet there are many voices calling out to us.

Many of the voices are loud, clamoring, demanding for attention. They hackle, yell, demean, shame, put-down, confuse, conflict, and torment, and cause us to worry and fear. They even try to make us think bad thoughts about and hate other people-including ourselves!

But, if we keep walking, keep listening and get where it is quiet again, and really listen, we can hear a still small voice saying, ‘this is the way, walk in it’. It will be unassuming, patient, kind, gentle, leading, guiding, encouraging, hopeful, filled with wisdom; it might even be a gentle warning, but it will cause us to be at peace and rest– not filled with turmoil when we hear it. It will inspire us to do good and think good about other people.

I have heard all of these voices. I have heard the voice of fear and worry and shame and hate, but I have also heard the voice of kindness, grace, hope and peace. I hear them every day in my walk through the wilderness of life.

I know what each of them feels like and what it does to me when I pay heed.

The choice is mine, which voices I choose to listen to.

Some are so tempting and convincing — to entice me to worry and fret about something I have no control over—which is about everything.

I am choosing to listen to the quiet voice. I choose to listen for the voice that wants to give me hope and cause me to do good and noble things.  I choose that, although it is harder to hear and follow, that is what I choose. Sometimes I get off the path and start listening to the louder voices, but my quest is to listen for the still small voice in the wilderness…the one that will lead me through to the clearing on the other side.

Who knows, maybe someone else that I cannot see is behind me – lost in the wilderness – and cannot hear the still small voice — but will follow my footsteps and make it through.

 

Positive People

Jennifred Jones

Most of us like being around positive people; most of us think we are positive people.

Did you know God wants us to be positive people? He created that desire in our lives. He is a positive God and He wants us to be positive people. ‘Yeah but’ and ‘what about’ you start to say. Nope, the choice is ours. God said to choose this day, to choose life, to choose to believe.

Without even realizing it many times we slide over into the negative and let that affect us, our decisions and our families.

People secretly want to be positive since that’s the way we’re designed, but often give in to negative out of fear of bad happening if they get too positive, too happy, too joyful, too expectant of good things in their lives,  so they ‘play it safe’ and stay either neutral or negative. ‘I don’t want to get my hopes up and then they get dashed to the ground.’ And so, all the joy is sucked right out of their lives under the guise of playing it safe. It’s no fun to live like that!

Then to keep ourselves ‘safe’, we try to tone down other’s excitement lest we get excited too and that might cause a ‘scene’. What would people think if I were actually happy every day?  Bah, Humbug isn’t only around at Christmas time. We have to guard against him on a daily basis!

A joyful, happy, merry heart does good like a medicine, but a broken spirit dries the bones.

Happiness, joy, positive attitudes and good health go hand in hand.

Don’t miss out on your good life.

Take it.

It’s yours.

Start today…be positive and good towards yourself!

FREEDOM

Jennifred Jones

Today I was privileged to watch part of  the ceremony for Hungary’s National Day in Budapest. Hungary was founded August 20th 1000AD by St. Stephen. As they sang their national anthem the guardsmen slowly, reverently raised their flag up the tall gray pole. The rain was coming down steadily, but that stopped no one from joining in the celebration of their freedom. The band played and the people sang while the guards watched as the flag was unfurled. Umbrellas of every size and color dotted the crowds who watched from the grounds. The verdant grass contrasted its green life against the red, white and green color stripes of Hungary’s flag.

Freedom. What a privilege. What a responsibility.

As I thought about their freedom and the freedom sought in many lands around the world today that freedom is available to anyone, anywhere, anytime. God said, “Whom the Son sets free is free indeed!”

Yes, we can have that freedom if we choose and if we cultivate it. Freedom begins not in a certain land or place; it begins first in our heart. It begins with a simple choice. “I believe.” Our greatest bondages are in our mind and Jesus came to free us of everyone of them—big or small. God said He would give us a new mind and a new heart when we come to Him, but now we must keep it renewed daily, sometimes minute by minute, as our greatest enemy, the devil, tries to take over our thoughts and bring us back into his bondage. Jesus gives us freedom no matter where we live and no matter what circumstance we find ourselves in. He is our great deliverer. This is our privilege in Christ.

It is also our responsibility, because we and we alone have control over our minds. God will not force us to think a certain way and the devil is constantly barraging our minds with thoughts of hate, anger, destruction, doubt, fear, guilt, inferiority, unworthiness, but God said we are to bring those thoughts to Him and cast them down. In other words, flatly refuse to think on them. Yes we do have a choice, to think on the bad and the negative, or to think on the good and the positive. We choose. God wants to help us. We tend to think we’re helpless and too far gone. No, that too is a lie. Jesus is there to help us and gives us His power to overcome those thoughts.

If we are free in our minds we can be free in our bodies. Freedom does begin first on the inside. I believe all men and women really do want to be free, but there is a cost. True freedom is found only in Jesus Christ, and He paid the cost that we couldn’t. All He says we need to do is believe and follow Him.

And His truth shall make you free!