2025-05-04
Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6 MSG
Persistence, determination, commitment, and recognizing the “right time…to hold on” are all commendable qualities, whether it’s setting aside time to pray and read every day, eating dinner with your family, finding a better job, or losing weight, etc. But it’s equally important to recognize the “right time… to let go” of self-generated urgency and things that are stopping you from living “life in all its fullness” (John 10:10 NCV). The Bible tells us to “lay aside every weight” (Hebrews 12:1 NKJV).
Not sure how to start? One teacher offers this suggestion: “Go to the hardware store and buy a flat patio stone that fits into your briefcase or purse. Then take a marker and write on the stone all the fears and prerequisites that are stopping you from enjoying life. Carry it with you wherever you go… eating, working, watching TV, showering, sleeping. Feel how heavy it is? It’s hard to get anything done when your muscles are working overtime carrying all that extra weight. At the end of the second day (if you last that long!), sit down with your stone, review the list, and make a conscious decision to let go of the worries and burdens that are sapping your energy. Then go outside and set the rock down beside your front door. See how much lighter you feel? How much easier it is to get things done? Before you leave home every day, take a second to look at your stone… then turn around and deliberately walk away.”
That’s what it means to “give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you” (Psalm 55:22 NLT).
Soul food: Exo 20:12; Eph 6:1-3; Matt 15:1-9; John 19:25-27
Prediker 3:1, 6 NLV
Volharding, vasberadenheid, toewyding en die herkenning van die regte tyd om iets op te pas is prysenswaardige eienskappe, of dit nou is om tyd opsy te sit om elke dag te bid en Bybel te lees, aandete saam met jou gesin te eet, ‘n beter werk te kry, of gewig te verloor. Dit is egter net so belangrik om die regte tyd raak te sien om dinge wat jou keer om ‘n oorvloedige lewe (sien Johannes 10:10) te lei, weg te gooi. Die Bybel sê vir ons om alles af te stroop wat ons spoed kan vertraag (sien Hebreërs 12:1).
Is jy nie seker hoe om te begin nie? Een onderwyser stel die volgende voor: ‘Gaan na die hardewarewinkel en koop ‘n plat stoepklip wat in jou aktetas of handsak pas. Neem dan ‘n pen en skryf al die vrese en struikelblokke wat jou keer om die lewe te geniet op die klip neer. Dra dit saam met jou waar jy ook al gaan – eet, werk, televisie kyk, stort, slaap. Dit is moeilik om iets gedoen te kry as jou spiere oortyd werk en al daardie ekstra gewig dra. Aan die einde van die tweede dag (as jy so lank uithou!), gaan sit met jou klip, hersien die lys en neem ‘n doelbewuste besluit om die bekommernisse en laste wat jou energie aftakel, te laat gaan. Gaan sit dan die klip langs jou voordeur neer. Sien jy hoeveel ligter jy voel? Hoeveel makliker dit is om dinge gedoen te kry? Voor jy elke dag die huis verlaat, neem ‘n oomblik om na jou klip te kyk en draai dan om en loop doelbewus weg.’
Dit is wat die Bybel bedoel wanneer ons lees: ‘Gee jou kommer oor aan die Here. Hy sal vir jou sorg…’ (Psalm 55:23 NLV).
Sielskos: Eks 20:12; Ef 6:1-3; Matt 15:1-9; Joh 19:25-27
2025-05-03
Proverbs 24:16 NCV
Here are two more keys to bouncing back:
(1) Instead of complaining about what you can’t change, change what you can. When you can’t change your situation, you can change your attitude toward it. How do you do that? By reprogramming your mind with God’s Word. The Bible says, “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe [trust in God]” (1 John 5:4-5 NLT).
(2) Instead of grumbling about your pain, grow through it. At the peak of her career, when photographer Linda Joy Montgomery learned she was going blind, an inner voice said, “This isn’t the end; it’s the beginning.” She began writing poetry, discovered her calling as a motivational speaker, and created the True Vision Institute, teaching kids to tap into their inner resources. Finding purpose in your pain isn’t a new idea. Survivors of life-threatening illnesses, natural disasters, and the Holocaust, and parents of chronically ill children, continually demonstrate how overcomers find the proverbial silver lining by reinventing themselves.
Meeting challenges helps you develop a can-do attitude that says, “Been there, done that, and I will survive.” Basketball star Michael Jordan said, “I’ve missed over 9000 shots in my career… lost over 300 games… 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” And you can too.
Soul food: Num 27-29; Mark 4:26-41; Ps 44:1-8; Prov 11:9
Spreuke 24:16 NLV
Hier is nog twee sleutels om te gebruik om terug te bons:
1) In plaas daarvan om te kla oor dit wat jy nie kan verander nie, verander dit wat jy kan. Wanneer jy nie jou situasie kan verander nie, kan jy jou houding daaroor verander. Hoe doen jy dit? Deur jou gedagtes met God se Woord te herprogrammeer. Die Bybel sê: ‘want elkeen wat God as Vader het, oorwin die wêreld. Die oorwinning wat die wêreld verower het, is ons geloof. Wie anders kan dit wees wat die wêreld verower as die een wat bely dat Jesus die Seun van God is?’ (1 Johannes 5:4-5 NLV).
2) In plaas daarvan om oor jou pyn te kla, groei daardeur. Toe die fotograaf Linda Joy Montgomery op die kruin van haar loopbaan verneem dat sy besig is om blind te word, het ‘n innerlike stem gesê: ‘Dit is nie die einde nie; dis die begin.’ Sy het gedigte begin skryf, haar roeping as motiveringspreker ontdek en die True Vision Institute geskep, waar kinders leer om hul innerlike hulpbronne te benut. Om ‘n lewensdoel in jou pyn te vind is nie ‘n nuwe idee nie. Oorlewendes van lewensgevaarlike siektes, natuurrampe, die Holocaust en ouers van chronies siek kinders, demonstreer voortdurend hoe oorwinnaars die spreekwoordelike silwer randjie, deur hulself te herontdek, vind.
Om uitdagings te oorkom, help jou om ‘n kan-doen-houding te ontwikkel wat sê: ‘Was daar, het dit gedoen en ek sal oorleef.’ Die basketbalster Michael Jordan het gesê: ‘Ek het meer as 9 000 doele in my loopbaan misgegooi; meer as 300 wedstryde verloor; 26 keer het ek die wedstryd se wen-doel geneem en misgegooi. Ek het oor en oor in my lewe gefaal. Daarom kan ek nou oorwin.’ Jy kan dit ook doen.
Sielskos: Num 27-29; Mark 4:26-41; Ps 44:1-8; Spr 11:9
2025-05-02
Psalm 129:2 NCV
When resilient people hit bottom, they don’t break, they bounce back. The apostle Paul was such a person: “We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do, we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 CEV). So, how can you bounce back instead of breaking? By doing two things:
(1) When you can’t control your circumstances, take control of your life. When a back injury paralyzed Angela Madsen from the waist down, she vowed to do whatever it took to get back up. As a result, she started training to be the first woman with a disability to row across the Atlantic. Journalist Denise Foley writes: “Madsen is what researchers call ‘resilient’ – …able to rebound from whatever difficulty life brings. She is one of those people who… make us wonder how we would fare if our own mettle were tested. Would we bounce back?”
(2) Instead of complaining about the wrong people being in your life, start looking for the right people. Ned Hallowell grew up with a bipolar father, an abusive stepfather, an alcoholic mother, and two learning disabilities – a history that’s often a precursor to jail or a mental institution. But he went on to become a prominent psychiatrist, a happily married father, and a successful author. It happened largely because, at a boarding school, he attached himself to teachers who cared about him and took him under their wing.
So, when times are tough, lean on God, take control of your life, and look for the right people.
Soul food: Num 25-26; Mark 4:13-25; Ps 37:32-40; Prov 11:7-8
