Liz’s Morning Devotional: Scripture selected from Upper Room
July 3, 2024
Philippians 4:4-9
4 Be glad in the Lord always! Again I say, be glad! 5 Let your gentleness show in your treatment of all people. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. 7 Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus. 8 From now on, brothers and sisters, if anything is excellent and if anything is admirable, focus your thoughts on these things: all that is true, all that is holy, all that is just, all that is pure, all that is lovely, and all that is worthy of praise. 9 Practice these things: whatever you learned, received, heard, or saw in us. The God of peace will be with you.
Good Morning! The God of peace be with you!
Rejoice in the Lord always! Let this joy fill your hearts and lift your spirits. Again, I say, rejoice!
I was blessed in my twenty-five years of teaching, but I remember a few challenging years sprinkled throughout the good ones. Due to our lives as a UM pastor’s family, my teaching career had more twists and turns than typical as I moved into new school systems every 6-7 years.
With one move, I had to accept a teaching position that required me to drive about 100 miles round trip each day. I served as an instructor of gifted education in three buildings. Two of the buildings shared a principal who, on her best days, was tough. She was unsympathetic to the needs of her students and staff and often placed overwhelming demands on her staff. As a result, the morale of students and staff was poor.
At first, I would respectfully suggest ideas to help the poor morale, but each idea was quickly shot down or ignored. As the year went on, I tried to give my best to my students and support the group of young teachers with whom I worked. I noticed unexplained body aches as I drove to and from work, and my energy levels dropped. Despite these challenges, I worked hard to give my students all the opportunities to discover the joy of learning new things.
The next year, I got a position much closer to home, and the pall of the previous year faded away. One morning at church, a friend told me, “Oh, I’m so happy you have your sparkle back!” I didn’t realize I had lost it, but when I reflected upon the past few months, I noticed that I had lost my ability to focus on what was good and worthy of praise.
It would be great to say that the remaining teaching years were without challenging, but that would not be true. However, in those most difficult moments, I focused on what was good and worthy of praise. I didn’t let circumstances take away my joy.
Rejoice in the Lord always! Let this joy fill your hearts and lift your spirits. Again, I say, rejoice!
God of Wisdom, Thank you for this beautiful gift of life. It is difficult not to be pulled away from the good. Help us remember, “When we focus on You, we find peace and joy.” We thank you! In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: No matter what storms rage around us, look for God’s joy and beauty.
In everything, find the joy that awaits us! Pastor Liz
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