Someone shared the below picture on Facebook the other day. I read it and I thought it was pretty good. I then thought about the Biblical aspect of each one of these “Rules” and thought I would share those here.
RULE 1. Make peace with your past so it won’t disturb your future. “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,” Philippians 4:13 If you are still holding unto your past, you will not be able to reach ahead and take control of what is ahead of you in your future. God wants has forgiven your past, why can’t you? He wants you to remember what He brought you out of, but He doesn’t want it to stop you from serving Him in the present.
RULE 2. What other people think of you is none of your business. I like this point! Today’s society dictates that we have to look a certain way, have a certain amount of money, and a whole list of other standards that we have to meet to be accepted. At the end of the day, none of that matters….what God thinks of us is what matters. “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” Genesis 1:27 God created us in His image so why are we worried bout whether others think, we should be worried about what God thinks of us, of whether or not we are being a good representation of Him.
RULE 3. The only person in charge of your happiness is you. You can tell a lot about a person by what makes them happy and what makes them sad. “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4 Our attitude should be based on what Christ has done, not on what our circumstances dictate. You should be happy because your joy is based not on yourself, not on what others dictate or even what circumstances bring your way but it should be based on Christ. Yes, you are in charge of your happiness but put God in control of your happiness and you will find joy in the Lord.
RULE 4. Don’t compare your life to others. Comparison is the thief of joy. God created each one of us as individuals. We all have our own life to live. If you focus on the lives of others and compare yourself to others you will never be happy.
RULE 5. Time heals almost everything. Give it time. “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28 We all are going to go through heartache and pain. We will all have troubles and trials in life. It will be hard to let go of some things, to forgive, to even forget some of the things that we have been through. If we as Christians, stay serving and faithful to God through our rough times, I believe that we help heal those hurts an pains. We have to remember that God has a plan for each one us. It may not always be easy but remember “all things work together for good.”
RULE 6. Stop thinking so much, it’s alright not to know all the answers. “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7 We don’t know all the answers to life and we never will. Stop worrying. Stop trying to figure everything out on your own. Start trusting and relying on God. Have faith in God that He knows all the answers to your life. God will give us the peace that we need when we need it. He will lead us and guide us in the way we should go. Stop thinking so much and start trusting God more!
RULE 7. Smile! You don’t own all the problems in the world! “Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” Psalms 43:5 Hey Christian, smile! We let the problems of the world and everything going on around us bring us down. Praise God! I like this verse because it says that God is the health of your countenance. If you have God in your life, your countenance will be healthy. A healthy countenance will have a smile! Don’t let your problems ruin your joy! Smile! Be a happy Christian!
Counted Faithful 