The Doorway We Choose is in Our Control

Oh. My. Goodness. I’m so done to listening to all the rancor that goes on in social media and the tv/online news reporting agencies. Honestly, I don’t understand how people can be so caught up in such negativity as an investigator or a reporter. How their minds must swirl with “He said. She said. They did.” How they might have trouble sleeping at night as they conjure up ways to get the next most negative news they can find. Oh, I know, in many cases – some look for great, upbeat, and positive news angles. But, in either case -- that’s the doorway they chose to walk through. They chose the good – the bad – or the ugly door and they live on that side of the doorway daily.

Now, that I’m back into my real world at home where I daily make decisions about how my day will go, I’m discovering what doorway I should walk through at any given time -- meditating on what’s good or what’s negative. I’m finding myself watching some social media videos and posts to bring me up to speed on what’s going on in our world. But, I keep hearing these words: “Choose you this day who you will serve” and I know it is about lending my eyes and my ears to the latest gossip and news or lending my eyes and ears to what God wants me to see and hear in this day. Remember St. Paul’s spiritually-elevating words in Philippians 4:8? “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, THINK on these things.” That, my friends, is a great doorway to walk and think through.

Joshua in the Old Testament gave powerful words of choice to the Israelites right after they conquered and took Canaan. He put a choice before them -- whether they would serve the Lord or not. “Choose this day whom you will serve…..as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15. The same choice is set before each one of us each day. The choice is up to us. God will not coerce us into serving Him. It is our daily responsibility to choose the doorways of life. Jesus came to give us an abundant life – but if we choose to listen to lies and the evil-workings of the enemy, we’re choosing death instead of life.

Proverbs 4:23 says: “More than anything guard, protect your mind, for life flows from it.” We can control the doorway to what we’re going to allow in. We can dwell on every negative thing people have said, every derogatory comment, or we can choose to delete it and dwell on what God says about us.

Let's shut the door on the enemy of our souls who keeps trying to get us to choose the doorway of defeat, fear, and anger! We are winners -- the enemy is the loser! Let’s shut the door on the enemy and choose the doorway of abundant life!

Living With Expectancy

My friend and I were talking yesterday about the choices we make every day. It starts the minute we wake up. We can hit the alarm over and over again and wish for a day of just sleeping. Or, we can CHOOSE to wake with great EXPECTANCY of what this day can hold in special favors, little kisses from heaven – like green lights, a great parking place, a sale on the item we're getting ready to buy (yesterday, it was a sale on grapes and clementines) – and even greater EXPECTANCY that a miracle we’ve been hoping for – shows up!

EXPECTANCY -- the state of thinking or hoping that something, especially pleasant, will happen; anticipation, excitement.

My dear husband spoke often about HOPE which he defined as “The great expectation that something good is about to happen.” Those folks who say “Don’t get your hope up”, have it all wrong – getting our hope UP is EXPECTING something good is coming our way.

Maybe this post should also include the word, CHOOSE, because every day we choose to be joyful or sorrowful; to EXPECT good things coming our way or CHOOSE to dwell on the negative circumstances of our lives and when we do….you better believe – we’ll get more of what we're EXPECTING. “If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all!” Really? Is that really the EXPECTATION that we want to put out there? No, thank you! I choose daily to “Expect a Miracle”! Maybe those are three words we need to write on little sticky notes and place them all over our homes – so that we are in the attitude of expectancy. Just think about that EXPECTANT mom-to-be. I assure you, she is definitely living in the attitude of expectancy. But, why not us? Every day holds the possibility of a miracle and so why shouldn’t we expect it in our lives?

Years ago, my husband and I were going through one of the toughest seasons of our lives and our daughter placed sticky notes on our bathroom mirrors, on the refrigerator door, the coffee pot, our computers, doors, our Bibles, the treadmill, and many other places with the words “Expect a Miracle” on them. And, the more we saw those words -- the more we believed in the possibility of the miracle we needed. Those words were imprinted on our hearts and our minds and our lips. We didn't let our words or actions go rogue, because that could have aborted our miracle. Besides, we had planted tons of seeds in our church, in ministries, in charities, in good works and good deeds. So we sure didn’t want our harvest to be stolen by negative attitudes, speaking and thinking. We put a guard up against negativity and doubt. Before long, we DID receive the miracle we needed and it came in such an amazing, over-the-top way!

That's what I believe for you today -- that you begin to live in EXPECTANCY for good things and even miracles coming your way in the form of brilliant ideas, witty inventions, right people, right places, right timing in your life. Let's start picturing in our minds what that "baby" is going to look like -- that job, that financial breakthrough, that healing, that relationship restoration, that promotion, that brainwave idea that makes a total difference in our lives! "Nothing is impossible with God" -- so live with GREAT EXPECTATIONS!

Psalm 77:14 "You are the God who performs miracles; you display your power among the people".