Changer of Hearts
It is better to live alone in the desert than with a crabby, complaining wife. Proverbs 21:19
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Whether we are male or female, most of us have days when others could describe us as crabby and complaining. A “bad-off day” one of my high school students used to call it, a day when things seem impossible and most of all, when it feels impossible for me to handle it all. On days like these, our attitude’s down, and everything—and everyone—irritates us. Maybe the cause is missed sleep, a stack of unpaid bills, cabin fever because the kids are sick, or weariness about the tenth gray day without any sunshine.
Whatever is causing our crabbiness and complaining, there is an antidote: turn from our bad attitude to the One who can bring a turnaround, not just in our day but in us. God is the great changer of hearts, the lifter of attitudes. As I give him the things that darken my day, he can be the sunshine in my soul. When I turn to him and pray, he delights in lifting my heart heaviness and giving me a spirit of gratefulness.
Prayers:
LORD, just as I am, I come to you. Thank you for receiving me and loving me just as much when I’m feeling down as when I’m having a good day. Help me to remember that this is a day you have made. Change my heart so that instead of complaining, I’m able to thank you for all that you are and all you have done for me.
Quotes:
WHEN HE SAYS TO YOUR DISTURBED, DISTRACTED, RESTLESS SOUL OR MIND, “COME UNTO ME,” HE IS SAYING, COME OUT OF THE STRIFE AND DOUBT AND STRUGGLE OF WHAT IS AT THE MOMENT WHERE YOU STAND, INTO THAT WHICH WAS AND IS AND IS TO BE—THE ETERNAL, THE ESSENTIAL, THE ABSOLUTE.
Phillips Brooks (1835–1893)
The One Year Bible Readings for today are: Esther 1:1–3:15; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34; Psalm 35:17-28 and Proverbs 21:19-20.
