July 28, 2012

Attitude Adjustment

Written by Boyd Bailey

Thoughts from daily Bible reading for today- July 28, 2012

“For seven days they celebrated with joy the Feast of Unleavened Bread, because the Lord had filled them with joy by changing the attitude of the king of Assyria, so that he assisted them in the work on the house of God, the God of Israel.”  Ezra 6:22

Attitude is everything; it can lift you up or bring you down. It is the barometer of your heart. If your heart is not right, your attitude will suffer. Attitude is critical because it influences your course of action. If your attitude is negative, then your words and your behavior will be too. There is a difference in being a realist about negative circumstances, and living with a chronic bad attitude. Naïve are those who ignore warning signs of trouble, and carry on oblivious to the storm clouds of sin. However, your attitude is rooted in who you are in Christ, so there is no need to be fearful, guilty, or insecure.

The attitude that Jesus exhibited was one of humility and servant leadership. His attitude reflected submission to His heavenly Father, which resulted in service, generosity, and love for people. Jesus was joyful and hopeful because He rested in the will of God. Do not allow others’ bad attitude to influence yours. Be the attitude influencer instead. Greet a frown with a smile, crush criticism with affirmation, and listen patiently until fury loses its steam. A positive attitude will eventually outlast and overpower a negative one. Most of all, pray for those who thrive on negativity. Pray for them to be set free from their hurt, anger, guilt, and insecurity. God has you in their lives to reflect the Almighty and to encourage an attitude adjustment through Him.

God is the genesis of a right attitude. He is the right attitude sustainer. He wants His attitude to be our attitude. This is why you need a daily attitude alignment from your heavenly Father. Each day, your attitude gets knocked around and abused by life. If left unattended, your attitude will drift into wrong thinking, harsh words, and bad behavior. Self-pity and anger can begin to replace selflessness and forgiveness. With just a little bit of daily tweaking, your attitude stays in line with His. It is subtle, but sometimes attitudes need to be adjusted moment by moment.

Lastly, slow down and pray when you feel your attitude eroding. When you’re in the midst of a bad attitude, don’t make important decisions; the time isn’t right for that. You will regret every decision you make during a time of emotional upheaval. Be patient, and wait until your anger has subsided, your heart is cleansed, and your attitude is objective. Almighty God is into attitudes that trust Him and reach out to others with compassion and understanding. Open-minded and reasonable attitudes lead to rich and robust relationships. Anyone can be negative; so don’t be anyone, be different. Allow God to shape your attitude on the anvil of His heart.

An attitude molded by God is infectious and transforming. Allow Him to change yours, and then trust Him to change another’s. The Bible says, “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5).

Taken from the July 26th reading in the 365-day devotional book, “Seeking Daily the Heart of God”… http://bit.ly/bQHNIE

Post/Tweet this today: A right attitude leads to rich and robust relationships. #attitude

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Comments

  1. Michael says:

    I cannot agree with today’s message more. I have been angry and frustrated at some of the situations in life and have procrastinated on making some important decisions. I have also make some bad ones in anger and frustration. Bottom line is that I need to maintain my conscious contact with God if I am to tread the path of my life with any serenity. I have learned this lesson before, but apparently need to learn it again. Reaching out to others to share the “Message” is mandatory. Believe me!

  2. David Ho says:

    Hi Boyd,

    The devotional on AA was outstanding. It is extremely relevant to our servant leadership at Family Christian. Your AA reminder will be one of the critcal element to our leadership and partner success in Q3 and Q4.

    Thank you for the daily devotions.

    David Ho
    Regional Vice President
    Family Christian Store
    david.ho@familychristian.com
    951-216-8774

  3. Janiece says:

    I really needed to hear this. Just this past week I felt myself going down a path with no good ending in sight. I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and did not like what I saw and certainly not how I felt. I am such an easygoing person but a situation occurred to where I was constantly angry and vindictive. I prayed and asked the Lord to do whatever He needed to do to make my heart right, Change ME. Today, He sent me this message. God is so on time! Thank you and continue to let the Lord use you!


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