Reality

Philippians 4:7

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Are you upset with reality? Are you wishing reality was different? Do you look to the past and wish you could go back and try again? You would appreciate and enjoy it all more this time. Do you feel tortured by this?  Reality is what it is. The past is done. You are not tortured by reality or the past. You are tortured by your thoughts about it. You need to work on accepting reality and come to peace with the ups, downs and the different stages of life.

The enemy wants you to be defensive about it all. Take it personal. Make excuses. Focus on your pain. Believe you could have done better. He wants you to feel a mixture of shame and disappointment. Shame for anything you didn't do perfectly in the past. Disappointment for the present because clearly anything in the past was better. The enemy is distracting you from working on things. He doesn’t want you making any progress or have any hope. 

God calls you to stay in the present, let go of the past and have a clear vision of reality. He doesn’t want you tortured by it. Some parts of life just are. 

Parents grow old.

Children struggle.

Partners leave.

Friendships end.

Loved ones pass away.

Disappointments happen.

Things don't go how you expected.

And there is always another way to look at these parts.

Parents are here to grow old.

Children learn through their struggles.

New loved ones are born.

God shows you there is a different way.

Things work out.

God wants you to concentrate on what you can change, what is good, and find peace. Each stage of life will have its difficulties and its blessings. You will change. You will grow. You will be different. As you embrace what is and let go of what should be you will find God, with His plan, in the middle of it all.

Prayer

Father God,

Thank You for being in the middle of it all. Thank You for helping me to see the difficult parts of life differently. Forgive me for the torture I afflict on myself. Forgive me for not being present. May I have a clear vision of and accept reality. May I let go of the past and find beauty in what is.

Amen