Count it all Joy (Cover Me Mark Condone)

This week has been a very trying one with many distractions.  Even as I work on this blog more distractions continue to occur and I can feel the same emotions and frustrations rising up within me.  Thankfully the emotions and frustrations do not stay around as long as they used to.  It has taken me awhile to learn this but pity parties are really no fun and accomplish nothing.  God created me with emotions and I realize that at times that can be good or bad, thankfully God also gave me self-control.  I do not have to give into the negative emotions when life spins out of control.  I may be frustrated and it may take me a minute or two to get my eyes off the storm and back onto God but praise God the time I spend looking at the storm before looking at God is growing shorter and shorter.

So as I previously stated this week has a crazy one full of many life distrations.  It all began Monday with no hot water and then an announcement at work that made everyone fear for their job and finally ended with discoverying that one of credit card numbers had been stolen.  God was in the midst of every one of these distractions and every one of them was resolved positively but by mid week another event occured I came home to discover I had no AC.  It was okay the first night but the second was torture as my house had heated up more during the day and it made for a long miserable night.  Friday morning I was hot, tired, and frustrated and to borrow from Lysa Terkeurst I came "Unglued".  I had focused on the storm instead of God.  As I turned my eyes back onto Him the situation improved and in the midst of the hot house I began to cool down and peace started to return to me.  And yes if you are wondering the AC situation was resolved Friday.  I came home to a cool house!

As all these situations and others occured James 1:2 continued to come to me.  Consider it all joy my brothers whenever you face trials of many kinds.  I did not consider it all "Joy" in fact I believe during my meltdown Friday I asked God when all the insanity would end.  The next verses help define why we should consider it all joy when we face trials of many kinds.  Verses 3-4 state: because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance.  Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

So trials actually help me!  God also gave me 2 Cor 4: 17-18, I thought I was being helpful and maybe a little spiritual on Monday when I posted this on Facebook Monday.  Came back to haunt me later in the day.  Thanks Esther for turning my focus back where it needed to be!

2 Cor 4:17:18

¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Another friend, Maribel ,shared a verse in Lametations with me (see below) but on my way there I came across this verse in Isaiah pay attention to the bolded parts.
Isaiah 48:17-18
¹⁷ This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel:“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches you what is best for you,
    who directs you in the way you should go.
¹⁸ If only you had paid attention to my commands,
    your peace would have been like a river,    your righteousness like the waves of the sea.

Lamentations 3:22-24

²² Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed,
    for his compassions never fail.
²³ They are new every morning;
    great is your faithfulness.
²⁴ Lord is my portion;
    therefore I will wait for him.”

With so many wonderful promises from God how can I allow my frustrations to get the best of me. So remember as you go through life stuff will happen that is not pleasant and your family will test your patience from time to time but God has it all under control.  I like what Brian Houston said in the podcast I listed to this week.  "It is not all about me!"

There are two songs I wanted to share on this blog.  One was by Casting Crowns I Will Praise You in the Storm and the other by Mark Condon Cover Me.  After praying about it I believe Cover Me is the song that needs to be shared.  The peace of God needs to cover us at ALL TIMES not just during times of testing and trials.