Looking for the Silver Linings

Life is not easy.  That might be the understatement of the year.  However, if the only things you focus on are the negatives, you may feel like you will never get out of the pit you feel like you are in.  For example, as a school teacher, it was super easy for me to fall into the negativity of others.  Some of our negative conversations would go something like this;  "How am I supposed to find time in my day to do that?", "How did that teacher get all the smart kids and I got the ones who can't pass a test?", or even "I can't believe the Principal expects us to do that, has he ever taught (insert subject here)?".  It is easy for me to get pulled into negativity.  I also honestly believe that for reasons I don't yet understand, females struggle way more in this department than men do (although I haven't ever been a man so I can't confirm that).
I would say for at least the past 7 or 8 years (apparently I am a slow learner), God has been dealing with me in the department of negativity.  I know there have been many times I found myself in one of the conversations I mentioned, only to later walk back to my classroom or drive home feeling incredibly convicted for allowing myself to get so negative.  So how in the world can we get out of that realm of negativity?  As with all things, I believe that the answer to that lies in the Bible.
"Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable.  Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." Philippians 4:8 NLT.
For people who have been around church their whole life, that verse may be a familiar one that has perhaps become a cliche that they just say but don't mean.  However, if you really consider the verse, it is pretty revealing about how to get out of negativity.  When you "fix your eyes" on something you choose to look at and focus on that thing.  It is a choice to look or not look.  This verse says to "fix your thoughts" on all those things.  That tells me that we must choose to think true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and admirable thoughts.  We have a choice.  Is it honorable to talk bad about your boss?  Is it admirable to tell your co-workers what a bad teacher so-and-so is?  We have to make a choice to change our way of thinking.  When our internal thoughts, or external conversations, turn to those negative places, we must choose to think instead of things that are "excellent and worthy of praise".
I have found during the various ups and downs of my own life, that when I start allowing my thoughts to go to places of negativity, that I find myself feeling more discouraged or even depressed.  I also have found that when I am around people who always find the negative in every circumstance, that I am easily pulled that direction.  I think that as we mature as Christians, it is vitally important to learn from our mistakes and work to not make the same mistakes over and over.  I know that one thing I have tried to do, is avoid situations where I might get pulled into negativity.  As a teacher, I had to pretty much completely stop going to the teachers' lounge during lunch because that was a hot spot for negativity.  I also learned what teachers to spend my time with, and the ones not to.  It's the same in my personal life.  If I spend too much time with negative people, I become negative.  I try to focus my time and energy with people who are encouraging and optimistic.
Joyce Meyer has an amazing book that so many people have read called Battlefield of the Mind.  If you haven't read it, I highly recommend that you pick up or borrow a copy.  In it she talks about how the enemy uses our minds to keep us from God's best.  I really think that is the key.  If Satan can keep our minds focused on negativity and being frustrated, then we will never fully enjoy our lives.  If he can identify something negative in every circumstance we are in, we will always be miserable and looking for the next best thing.  However, if we can choose to allow God to renew our way of thinking, he can show us what he has for us.  "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect." Romans 12:2 NLT.
We must choose to find the silver lining to every cloud that rolls our way.  That is incredibly easy for me to do when I am looking in the rear view mirror, however, no matter how many victories God takes me though, I have such a hard time seeing positives in the midst of a struggle.  I find that remembering that we are looking at every situation in our lives from ground level, and God sees things from 10,000 feet, tends to ease my worries some.  "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9 NLT.  He sees the beginning and the end, as well as everything in between.
One of the darkest moments of my life so far was almost exactly 7 years ago.  It was the moment I found out that I was getting laid off of a job I loved.  I had so much of my identity tied up in what I did for a living that I was completely devastated.  However, without going into all the details at this time, I can now tell you that it was actually a blessing.  Because of being laid off I learned incredible lessons about trusting God and perseverance through trials.  I also switched professions completely and started teaching during that time, something I would have likely never done otherwise.  I have been incredibly blessed by the people I have met and worked with over the past 6 years in education.  Because of that trial, I now see things through a bit of a different lens.  I am learning how to seek God's blessings even in the midst of trying times.  I hope that if you are in a time of trial and testing, that you too will choose to find the silver lining and remember that God is working behind the scenes, no matter how dark your circumstances.
  

Working Unto the Lord in ALL Circumstances

Several months ago, I had a conversation with a young man who was a student of mine that has really stuck with me.  The teacher who had taught in the position I was now in, although a really nice person, did not have much structure in the classroom.  The students were always moaning and groaning about having to actually learn things in Ag class because they were use to messing around in the shop or just sitting around talking or playing cards.  This particular student was a great kid, but he surprised me a little with his question.  He asked me something to the extent of "Why are you working so hard, why don't you just do what the other ag teachers have done and just let us mess around out in the shop?"  I responded to him that I was not hired to mess around, that even though the class was not a core subject that I still had state requirements of what I was suppose to teach and that I can't take a paycheck knowing that I wasn't doing my job.  He didn't understand, he thought it would be great to get paid to sit around.  I explained to him that in his little side business that he has, if he had an employee that he hired to do a certain job and that employee showed up everyday and just played on their cell phone and did nothing, how would he feel as a boss?  Would that person keep their job for long?  Since that time, I have really thought about what it really means to "work unto the Lord".
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24 NIV. 

      When I started life in the “real world” outside of the safety of being in school or living with my parents, I was incredibly naive.  I honestly thought that when people went to work that they worked hard at whatever they did no matter who their boss was or what their pay scale was.  I actually believed that adults didn’t get caught up in drama or laziness while at work.  Boy was I wrong.  I quickly found out in the real world, many people want to do the bare minimum to get by.  Now, let me start off by saying that I am far from perfect.  There are times when I fall into ruts on the job.  However, I have discovered that no matter what job you have or who your boss is that there will always be struggles.  I decided early on that whoever I worked for or whatever I did for a living that I was going to try to do it as if God himself was my boss.  It shouldn’t matter if you are CEO making high dollar business deals, or if you are scrubbing toilets for the CEO; you should work as if God was your boss.  That can be incredibly hard to do, especially if your job isn’t glamorous or not your “dream” job. 

      There have been jobs in my past that I have loved, as well as those that I simply “survived”.  Those survival jobs are always the hardest to stay focused and dedicated to “working unto the Lord.”  It can be incredibly easy to justify slacking off or not doing your job.  If your boss is unkind or if the job seems unimportant we sometimes tell ourselves that no one will notice anyways.  It is also incredibly easy to not work to your full potential if you have a job where you don’t have constant supervision.  I have had several jobs where it was up to me to get the job done and my boss was either at a different location or simply left me alone.  Don’t be fooled though, eventually your work ethic will show through.  In some jobs it may be in the form of not reaching sales goals, or maybe having customers complain, or as a teacher, students not knowing what they are supposed to know to pass a test.

      The fruits of your labor will always come through.  It may take weeks, months, or even years but eventually your work ethic comes to light.  Having a poor work ethic can cause you to lose commissions, lose out on a promotion, or even lose your job.  It is vitally important during those times of “surviving” a job that you don’t particularly enjoy with a boss you don’t really like, that you press in and work to your full potential.  It is during those times that the Lord is able to see our true character and know if we are ready for the next level he has for us.

One of the most famous story in the Bible about working unto the Lord is the Parable of the Talents.  “For it is just like a man about to go on a journey, who called his own slaves and entrusted his possessions to them.  To one he gave five talents, to another, two, and to another, one, each according to his own ability; and he went on his journey.”  Matthew 25:14-15 NASB.  If you notice, it says in “each according to his own ability”.  God knows where we are in our progression toward maturity.  He does not push us beyond our ability.  Notice also that is does not say that the one with five talents was any better than the one with two, or one.  He simply gave in accordance to the ability of the person.  I think we need to realize this in our own lives.  We may want the next better thing, but maybe we aren’t taking care of the “thing” we have now.  God gives in accordance to how we steward what we have. 

      In the story, the man with five invested what he had and doubled it, the same thing happened with the man who received the two.  However, the man that received one, hid his away and didn’t make a single thing for his master.  His excuse was that he knew that his master was a hard man and he was afraid.  Isn’t that what we do sometimes?  We hold onto or money or our things or even a job because we are afraid.  The slave who received the one talent feared what his master would do if he lost the talent.  I am guilty of the very same thing.  I fear change, I fear missing God’s will, I fear disappointing others, and I fear the unknown.  However, if we want to hear the same words as the two slaves that made good investments for their master “Well done good and faithful servant” we must push through the fear and apprehension no matter who we are working for or what we are called to do.  Regardless of whether we have a wonderful, Godly boss or one who we absolutely dread seeing, we are ultimately working not for man, but for God.

      Over the years I have taught hundreds of teenagers.  Every year I would try to throw some life lessons in with my regular lessons as often as I could.  I would almost always teach kids about integrity.  To give a really simple definition, I would talk to the kids about how integrity is doing the right thing even if no one is watching.  That is so easy to say, not as easy to do.  In reality, if our boss is away or if no one is around because we work remotely or maybe we work from home or are even a stay at home mom, it is incredibly easy to let productivity slide.  I know that I sometimes struggle with that.  However, it’s important to make sure we get the job done no matter who is watching. 

      As a school teacher, I sometimes saw my boss, but many times I would go days or even weeks without seeing them except for in passing walking down the hallways.  It was up to me to make sure what I was required by the state to teach, was being taught.  It would have been easy sometimes to just let the kids do what they wanted and call it a free day, the kids sure would have love it.  However, that is not what I was hired to do and not what I was paid to do.  It’s important to keep that perspective.  Regardless of how we feel or whether we like what we do, that’s what we are hired for.  If you happen to stay at home this can be a huge struggle.  The tasks of a stay at home mom are far from glamorous.  However, there are still jobs that need to be done.  Even though there isn’t a true “boss” in that situation, we are still called to work as if God was our boss.  That means even if folding laundry or washing dishes are things you hate, you can still do the tasks with a grateful heart.

      “Work hard so you can present yourself to God and receive his approval.  Be a good worker, one who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly explains the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15 NLT.