Four Ways to Take Charge of Your Day

Today had the makings of a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day. It did not seem possible to take charge of my day.

Alarm clock screaming, my bare feet hit the floor. The thunder and lightning made the night seem way too short. I drug myself out of bed, yearning to get back in. I could tell the battle was brewing. The Enemy was knocking on my door.

I once heard a saying: Be the type of person that when the devil hears you’re up…he say’s “Oh no, here they come again!”

But today, I wasn’t feeling it.

I meandered out to the kitchen. Turned the coffee pot on. Let the puppy out…and then back in again. Aimlessly packed the kid’s lunches. There wasn’t much going on inside my head. And then…

I heard the puppy puking, something I dread. I hurriedly tried to clean up the mess and scurry the boys out of bed. It was suddenly a total frenzy to get on out the door.

Sitting behind the wheel, on my way to school…I realized that emotionally I was unreeling. I hadn’t had any time in the Word. As my son got out of the car we said our typical “I love you!”

I drove around the bend and heard a still, small voice whisper, “Hello, I’m waiting here.” I didn’t feel like praying. I didn’t want to hear God’s Word. Everything within me preferred to sit and sulk.

I’ve always been a runner. From conflict. Fear. Dread. I rather avoid the hard stuff than to go ahead, and dig in. But today I heard the Holy Spirit yearning me to draw near. To choose Him rather than the current storm. To seek my shelter under His wing.

Despite what my emotions are telling me…I turn my Scripture reader on. Sit and soak in the Word of God for my lengthy, 30-minute drive home. Learn a valuable lesson. The Enemy will always try to convince us that spending time with God is not a win-win. But you know what, He’s got it all wrong.

Four Ways to Take Charge of Your Day and Win:

1. Choose God. Put your obstacles aside. Remind yourself emotions cannot think. And besides, they don’t always make the best decisions. Fight for the truth and spend time in prayer, regardless of how you feel.
2. Control your Thoughts. Be honest with yourself. It is dreadfully easy to rehearse in your mind how you fail and fall short. You can get caught up in all of your inadequacies and disappointments. Our eyes tend to focus on everything that is going wrong, rather than everything that is going right. Tell yourself that God is good. He is transforming you, molding you, shaping you, strengthening you, and helping you. Ask Him to be your guide.
3. Consider Others. When we focus our gaze on our problems, our issues, our shortcomings….all of a sudden, we become self-absorbed in me, me, and me. It’s no wonder anything is going our way! When we spend too much time on social media, we see this world through other people’s eyes. If we browse too many magazine covers, no longer do we like the clothes in our closets or the shape our body is in. When we compare our lives to so-and-so, it’s no surprise we end up feeling discontented. However, when we see someone else’s heartfelt need…we get up, take charge, and get busy.
4. Challenge Yourself. If you find yourself faltering, pick yourself up and try it again. Dust off your Bible. Get back in the game. You still have this life to live. Think about all of the Bible stories where people failed time and time again. The Israelites wandered. The people built idols. They chose to pursue other things. However, despite their sin, God remained faithful every single time.

“Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.” 1 Corinthians 9:26

Walk by faith, my friend.

In what areas you feeling like you are not enough? How can you take charge of your day and win?