Are you Part of the Solution?
“To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the
Lord, that he might be glorified.” (Isaiah 61: 3 KJV)
I had a pastor who has said many times in his sermons “If you come to me and
complain about something, you need to be part of the solution.” The same is true
when we are encouraging or counseling people. We should not tell them to do
something unless we first set the example for them.
When God gave me the ministry of writing devotions three years ago, I used to
get very discouraged when I would receive emails from people who criticized me.
I shared this with someone and the person replied, “When you get discouraged,
start praising Jesus.” That is a true statement. However, this person did not
praise Jesus in the email to me.
We complain about people having to sleep on the streets, but how many of us open
our homes to these precious people? Yes, today we have to be very careful who we
let in our homes because of all the violence that is going on. However, we can
pray for these people to find shelter that is warm and for them to find people
who not only care about them, but also care for them. Are we praying for them?
If you are having conflict and arguments constantly in your home, are you a part
of the problem or are you being a part of the solution? One of the best ways for
us to stop an argument is for us to keep our mouths shut when we desperately
want to hurt the person who is hurting us.
It is impossible for us to be quiet without the help of Jesus. Being human, our
first reaction is to strike back with heated words. That only adds fuel to the
fire that has already been ignited. If we will be quiet, the argument will cease
due to not having any more fuel. Again, we can’t do this in our own strength. It
takes the power of Jesus working in our hearts to help us not to say something
hateful in return.
When things upset you and you complain about them, are you being a part of the
solution? When your spouse says something hurtful to you, do you say something
in return that you know will hurt your spouse? We must become a part of the
solution rather than just complaining and adding fuel to a fire that is already
raging out of control.
Let’s start being part of the solution instead of complaining about something.
Most important of all, we need to start praying instead of complaining. When it
comes right down to it, Jesus is the only one who can change a person’s heart.
Allow Jesus to make you part of the solution.
Joanne Lowe
February 7, 2008
joannelowe8@cox.net
http://joannelowe.blogspot.com
www.heavenwardbound.com
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