"Dwell On These Things"

Philippians 4: 8

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

When we ask Jesus to come into our lives as our Savior, He will do more than just rescue us from eternal damnation. He will be present with us each day; revealing the love of God, bringing us joy, hope, peace, and new vision and understanding. By His Spirit we will discover what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely and good character in others. If there is anything of excellence and worthy of praise, He will reveal it and it will draw us into praise.

Mundane days become days of worship. Chores and daily tasks become ways to worship and show God honor. As we discover the good things that God surrounds us with, He will add to our ability to see more and more of the excellence He blesses us with. .

During these Covid-19 isolation days I have been doing a lot of walking. I decided that I would start picking up trash as I walk to make my walks purposeful and to honor God by showing my appreciation for His creation. I have discovered that as I walk the same path day after day, there is always trash to pick up. What surprises me is that even though I am retracing my steps, I continue to find trash which has been there for days, weeks, and probably months that I had not seen before. Perhaps the sun will reflect off a can or bottle that catches my eye or a breeze will cause a piece of paper or plastic to move revealing trash I had never noticed before.

I know that God is teaching me that if I am seeking to honor Him, He will help me to discover and reward my efforts. It sounds crazy and I am not going to try to explain the joy and sense of enjoyment I get when I find the trash that was missed before but found today.  I also know He will help me to see the goodness in people and the world around me in a new way...seeing goodness and excellence which I never noticed before.  I feel a nearness to God and a pleasing presence that I cannot explain. It just encourages me to Dwell On These Things!