“It’s our outlook on life that will determine the outcome of our life — outlook makes us or breaks us. . . . You are response-able. Fort what? For everything! Even in the face of pure evil, we have within us the capacity for good. In spite of all that is wrong, we can do what is right. It’s the miracle of free will.”- Mark Batterson
“If you’re going through hell, keep going!”- Winston Churchill
As Mark Batterson moves on in Chapter 9 of A Million Little Miracles, he underscores the ability of one smile to change the trajectory of someone’s life. And that includes yours! So, Mark suggests, perhaps some people need to look in the mirror and smile at themselves.
Certainly, Mark acknowledges, we don’t choose our family or a thousand other things. However, he stresses, we do choose our responses to the challenges life throws at us. Above all, when life knocks us down and kicks dirt in your face, the Enemy adds insult to injury. Hence, when that happens, Mark exhorts us to flip the script. Because one cannot deny the existence of beauty, truth, and goodness. Thus, it’s a wonderful life — if you want it to be.
Therefore, Pastor Batterson encourages, challenge your circumstances through worship. Worship your way through them. Because, Mark notes, worship is:
- childlike wonder.
- counting stars, considering lilies, and chasing butterflies.
- becoming less self-conscious and more God-conscious.
- giving God your full attention and your full affection.
- waking up to a million little miracles.
Writing in God Is Good: He’s Better Than You Think (rev. ed. 2018), Bill Johnson counsels:
“The goodness of God is not a magic wand that we wave over a problem to see it fixed. It is the context in which we do life. Everything we see and experience is defined by that one prevailing reality: God is good.”
In conclusion, Mark states, we praise God because He is God Most High, God Most Nigh, and God Most Good. And it’s our purpose in life to praise Him!
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you to be response-able for everything? Please share.
Coming Monday: the March Short Meditation, “Forty rounds with the devil”
Tomorrow’s blog: “Cultivate holy curiosity”