Act instead of Acted Upon

One of the ways I have most come to know my God and to feel his hand in my life is when things are not going exactly the way I want them to. We, as human beings, have a tendency to get mad or frustrated when things are not going exactly as we would like them to. I have seen this so many times in my life, that whenever things are not going how I had planned I begin to feel easily irritated, quick to anger, quick to judge and quick to blame, and I would imagine that most of you experience similar feelings when things aren't going the way we had originally planned.

Jesus Christ to me is the supreme example of someone who didn't have a whole lot going right for him near the end of his life, and yet didn't let himself give in to these natural human emotions that all the rest of us would feel. He was betrayed (Mark 14:10); his apostles abandoned and denied him (Luke 22:57-60); he was mocked and spit upon (Luke 22:63); he was scourged (John 19:1); and he was crucified (Luke 23:33). Yet at the end of it all, was he bitter, angry or even judgmental? Not in the least. Amazingly, he even went as far as to plead with God to forgive them of what they had done (Luke 23:34). 

One of the many traits that Christ possessed that I would like to focus on right now, one of the reasons he was able to act in this way, was because Christ was a person who chose to act rather than be acted upon. I recently read a story in a book entitled "The Ultimate Missionary Companion", by Ed. J. Pinegar, that went something like this (paraphrased):

"I once was walking through town with my friend and he paused to go pick up a newspaper. The man from whom he bought the newspaper was very grumpy, and did not even acknowledge my friends cheery "Thank you!" 

"That man isn't having a very good day," I said. 

"Oh he's always like that!" Responded my friend.

"Why do you continue to be kind and cheery to him when he treats you so badly every time you see him?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Why should I let him decide how I'm going to act?" 

I learned an important lesson from my friend that day; he was a person that chose to act, rather than be acted upon."

The other day I was feeling a little weighed down by all the work and sorrow I am seeing around me (I'm sure many of you can relate.) I felt a little helpless and overburdened, and didn't know what to do. I eventually decided to pray, to act instead of letting all of these things continue to act upon me, and I can testify to all of you that God does hear and answer every one of our prayers. He gave me the strength and determination to go on, and helped me to turn what had seemed like a hopeless situation into a great blessing in my life.

My prayer to each one of you is that we can learn to act in our daily lives instead of being people who are simply acted upon. When we feel weighed down by sorrows, worries, cares, responsibilities, or anything else in this life, instead of continuing to feel these things, we can choose to act. We can choose to call upon God in prayer, to uplift and encourage another, to look for the good in our lives and in the lives of others, to search for the hand of God in every moment of every day that we are blessed with here on this earth. That we can all begin to act and to make every day a great day instead of letting it happen to us is my invitation to each one of you.