Attitude Check

Healthy Attitude - Letting God redeem your attitudes for His glory.
By Cindee Re
I awoke to a dismal, rainy, gray morning. I usually dont mind the weather, enjoying the
variety of our mid-western climate, but this morning it absolutely annoyed me. I felt
frustrated as soon as I stepped out of bed. I knew I was tired. It had been a long five
weeks of sickness in our house. My oldest daughter had been hospitalized briefly because
she lost the feeling in and partial function of her left leg, which thankfully reversed itself
after a week. That left four days until my husbands shoulder surgery, four relatively
quiet days for me to finally come down with the virus plaguing my family.
I knew God had kept me healthy through the days I was most needed, so I trusted Him to
handle the details of the next four days as well. By Tuesday morning, I wasnt well, but
improved enough to take my husband to the hospital. His surgery went well, and by
weeks end wed all settled into a bit more normal routine. Saturday I awoke frustrated by
life, and grumbling aloud to God, Why does everything have to be so hard sometimes.
Throughout the morning, the Apostle Pauls words rang in my ears, So I find this law at
work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight
in Gods law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war
against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my
members. What a wretched man I am! (Rom. 7:21-24) I felt as wretched as Paul. I
didnt want to be short-tempered, frustrated, and annoyed, and I didnt want my words to
hurt the ones I love, but they did.
Too often I fail to be the wife and mother my family desires and deserves. They try to be
patient and understanding. They know the pain and frequent nausea, resulting from an
accident four years ago, often causes my quietness, impatience, and frustration, and
theyre right, but thats a reason, not an excuse. God doesnt excuse my attitudes because
of what Hes allowed in my life. Hes allowed my injury for a reason, and Hell use it if
Ill let Him, but theres the rub. God knows I cant struggle through this on my own, and
He doesnt expect me to. Instead, He asks me to take every thought captive to Christ, to
lean on Him, because His grace is sufficient for me, His power made perfect in my
weakness. (2 Cor. 12:9) God wants me to do life with Him, through Him, in Him, for
then He can redeem the pain, limitations, and even my attitudes for the glory of His
Kingdom.
Father, teach me to willingly surrender to Your will. Grant me courage to take up my
cross daily and follow You, for then my life will honor and glorify You, and whatever
You allow will be well worth the cost. May I learn to walk worthy. Amen.

Learning from Adversity. (Rom. 8: 28)

The other side of last weeks story: In the 2002 NCAA finals at 184 lbs., Josh Lambrecht
of Oklahoma had built a 14 - 3 lead over Lehighs Rob Rohn by repeatedly tilting Rohn
for near fall points. With Lambrecht ahead 14-3 in the final period, television
commentators were sure he was about to win a national championship. Yet with a minute
left in the match, from the neutral position, Lambrecht got caught in Rohns desperation
cement job, and was pinned with 14 seconds left in the NCAA finals.
That was a tough moment in Josh Lambrechts life. However, as Josh has gone on to tell
many young wrestlers, it also became a time in his life that caused him to evaluate what
was the most important thing in life. For Josh, he realized that was his relationship with
God, that being a man after Gods own heart, was the most important thing in life. The
pain of his loss in the NCAA finals taught Josh his most important lesson in life: That
being a winner in Gods eyes is the most important win of all.
Josh Lambrecht finished his wrestling career as a three-time NCAA All-American for the
University of Oklahoma, but he will tell you that wins on the mat are not as important as
learning what it meant to be a winner on Gods team. That is because Josh understands
that winning in Gods eyes is more important than accomplishment in mens eyes.
Romans 8: 28 tells us, And we know that God causes all things to work together for
good, to those who love Him, and are called according to His purpose.
This passage does not say, all things are good, but it does tells us that all things
including the hard or painful times all work out for the good of those who love God.
Our heavenly Father knows exactly where we are in our lives at every moment, and He
uses the hard times and trials, all for His own perfect purposes in our lives. (Like a good
coach who pushes his team to get the most out of them.) Some things in life are tough to
take, some things can be dangerous, and some things bring emotional pain. Yet for the
person who loves the Lord, and follows His call on their life, even the hardest things of
life will work together to strengthen our patience, develop our character, and mature our
Christian faith (as we saw last week, in James 1:3-4). No matter what we face in life,
God will use it all (good or bad) to help us grow into the kind of people He wants us to
be. We know that the plan God has for His children is always a good plan in the long run
to benefit us, not to hurt us (Jeremiah 29:11).
Discussion Questions:
1. Have you ever worked hard for something, only to come short of your goal and
face bitter disappointment?
2. Why do so many bad things happen "after hours"?
3. Have you asked the people you've wronged to be forgiven?
4. Have you asked God you've wronged to be forgiven?
5. How would you feel if you knew you were totally forgiven for every sin you've
ever committed?
CONCLUDE WITH A SHORT PRAYER