Minding My Own Business

Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
Matthew 6:27 NIV

About a month ago, give or take a week, the Spirit of Prophecy (http://ft111.com/ ) had a word that really resonated with me.  In it, the Lord talked about anxiety.  He said that we should view anxiety as something outside of our boundaries; something we do not have any right to entertain.  The Lord said His children need to understand that anxiety is none of our business.  I laughed out loud when I read it.  I felt spanked and relieved at the same time! 

This meant I did not have to be anxious about anything anymore because it was not a part of my life.  I also felt like God was telling me to knock off all the worrying I’d been doing because it was wasting my time and His. 

 

Lately, I’ve been making a conscious effort to remind myself to mind my own business.  You see, my business does not include anxiety in any way.  It’s definitely a process to get to where He’s calling us, but well-worth it.  The circumstances of life still exist.  However, the peace and calm I’ve been able to tap into during times of pressure help me want to mind my own business daily!

I just had to tell somebody.

Peace be with you…

 

India N. Keith

In Your Element

Let the LORD be magnified, which has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant.
Psalm 35:27b

Recently, I have been in awe of the many abilities of God’s people.  My husband and I watched a track and field competition the other week.  I think the athletes were trying to qualify for the Olympics.  To see the women and men move around that track as naturally as if they were breathing was beautiful.  And then I saw the contestants on So You Think You Can Dance.  The young men and women were so graceful and agile.  They could do things with the human body most of us will never do in a lifetime.  Over the weekend I watched HGTV.  There is this show called Cash and Cari.  This woman re-purposes items and facilitates estate sales for the living.  At one point she talked about what she does and I tell you her eyes were gleaming.  The joy she described as she searched through dark, dirty, cellars, basements, barns, etc for a gem was just beautiful.  Cari set a goal of how much she anticipated the estate sales to make at the start of each show and never fell short of her goal.  It must have been a marathon because I had to watch half a dozen episodes or so.  I’m not one for antique shopping and the like, but I was captivated by how well she did what she did.  I could not stop watching.

I’ve heard people say a person is in their element.  I’ve even said it myself.  I’m not sure I really stopped to think about what that means.  Nevertheless, I’ve been getting a wake up call.  I really hear God speaking loudly to me about doing what you do best and loving it.  God is proud when He sees us doing what He gifted us to do in an excellent way.  It wasn’t that I have never seen a person run a race or watched people dance before.  What struck me and still plays in my mind is the perfection of the gift.  The athletes, dancers and designer had developed their gift to such an extent the gift had become alive. God loves to see this.  God is happy when we are prospering in our gifts.

Doing what God has gifted me to do with excellence is something I’m working toward.  And, considering I’m not alone in this pursuit, I will be successful.  I just have to keep perfecting the gift.  I know those women didn’t wake up one morning and run 400 meters in less than 2 minutes and those dancers didn’t learn to glide effortlessly through the air in one day.  It took practice and years of it for some.  I shouldn’t think I will be excellent without practice either.  Practice, in some cases, does make perfect.  I’ve seen it.

Peace be with you…

India N. Keith