Smile Through It – Pinch of Positivity

Smile Through Grief

CJ Montgomery — Thu, 16 May 2019 07:00:33 +0000

Key Verse: Matthew 5:4

In October of 2018, I lost a woman who meant the world to me. Every Sunday night, I would call her to talk about my week and she would encourage me to “keep the faith.” That woman was my Nanna (my grandmother) and losing her during my junior year of college almost destroyed me. Who was going to pray with me and for me when life was being cruel? I was going to have to trust and lean on God more than ever before. In Matthew 5:4, God promises to bless those that mourn and to comfort them. While there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think about my Nanna, I’ve felt an overwhelming amount of comfort from God that has allowed me to push through.

The first thing we must realize is the meaning of the word “blessed.” In the Greek, the word blessed means happy, an untouchable joy. So, in the context of the verse, Matthew wants us to see that, even though we are mourning, we can be happy. It sounds kind of crazy to be happy that you have lost someone. But you can find joy in knowing that the person is with God if they had already given their life to Him. You can also think about the important fact that: since blessings are gifts given to us by God, we know that He will bring us an unalterable joy. A joy that death can’t even take from us.

Then, we have to look at the tenses of the verbs in the verse: “are” and “will.” Even though we are currently mourning the loss of this particular person, our comfort will come in the future. Maybe you have been mourning the loss of someone for a while, don’t lose faith. We can’t rush God’s comfort because His timing is not the same as our timing. Some people will appear to move on faster even if you both are grieving the loss of the same person because we all handle grief differently. However, we must remember that when we are comforted it will come in the form of a blessing or untouchable joy. John 16:20 said it best “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy” (NIV). God wanted us to know that the world will seem to keep moving and appear to be doing well while are grieving. It will seem like the people who were there for you the most don’t understand your pain no matter how bad you want them too. There will be days where you are trapped inside of your own head to the point where you can’t stop crying. But that is not where you will end. God wants us to be able to use our testimonies to help others. So, when we receive that joy, nonbelievers will be able to see that the only reason you made it through was because of God. They will see how far you have come, and you will have no choice but to give God all the credit.

So, how do you smile through grief? You look forward to your comfort. It won’t be easy. I still struggle with sadness and frustration at the thought of my nanna, but I know that we will be reunited one day. I also know that, until that time comes, God is going to be my comfort and He will cover me with untouchable joy. Don’t run from the emotions because God can use all of that to get the glory. It is our job to keep the faith and remain positive.

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank you for your untouchable joy. Thank you for allowing me to realize that my timing is not your timing. Thank you for allowing my grief to be a part of my testimony that will lead people to you someday. Lord, please comfort me and grant me peace. Allow me to smile through the grief and have faith in you. Lord, I love you and thank you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Smile Through Loneliness

CJ Montgomery — Thu, 23 May 2019 07:00:18 +0000

Scripture: Romans 8:31-39

Key Verse: Romans 8:38

When I first left home for college, I was really excited. I was about to get my first taste of “freedom” after being under my parents’ roof for eighteen years. I just knew that I would find a friend group that I could spend every minute of not being in class with. But I was sadly mistaken. If the truth be told, even now as I prepare to go into my senior year, there are very few weekends that I don’t spend alone. I have people that I consider friends, and I am beyond grateful for them. But part of me still gets discouraged when I remember that I don’t have the friendships with them that people dream of when they think about college. It is in those moments that I have had to learn to address that feeling of loneliness by spending time with God.

I know that God loves me, and I have never questioned it for a second (verbally that is.) However, there’s something about being alone in the flesh that infiltrates our spirit and makes us feel like no one cares. God said neither the present nor the future can separate us from His love. So that means that our present state of mind can’t stop Him from being there, and, if that feeling comes in the future, He is still going to love us. And some of us might say that love is different than someone being there for us and literally keeping us company. Well, I’m glad your mind went there. God knew us before we were formed in our mother’s womb (Jeremiah 1:5). He sent His son to die for us before we even set foot on the earth (John 3:16). Jesus Christ advocates for us with His father every time we do something crazy (1 Timothy 2:5). All of those instances of Him being there are rooted in His love. If that isn’t enough, you can thank God for the company of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us once we accept Him as our Lord and savior.

Loneliness can make our minds wander to the point where negative thoughts overwhelm us and make us start to question our reality. But even those negative thoughts can’t separate us from the love of God. Think about the story of Job who lost everything and yet he still didn’t curse God. He was dealing with loneliness that some of us will never be able to relate to. People around Job tried to get inside of his head and make him think that his physical loneliness could not justify his spiritual needs. Job understood as we should understand that God has our best interest in mind. He used that time alone to pray to God and get closer to Him. We should do the same. Instead of complaining about what we don’t have and who isn’t around, we can involve ourselves in activities that build a stronger relationship with God like listening to Christian podcasts or music, getting involved in small groups at church, or studying (not just reading) God’s word. These things can all bring us comfort and joy during times that can bring us down. Proverbs 16:27 reminds us all that “idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece” (TLB). So, we must keep our focus on Christ.

Loneliness can cause us to feel tons of negative emotions. However, in the midst of it all, we must remember that God is there for us, and he wants to see us happy. This is why He will never leave us alone. No matter how many times we turn on Him, He is always faithful to us. His consistency alone should give us a reason to smile during our lonely season.

Prayer: Lord thank you for being with me in my lonely seasons. Thank you for all that you did for me even before I took my first breath and for the stuff you are even doing for me today. Thank you for your Holy Spirit and for giving me an example of what to do in my lonely season. Lord, please help me to redirect my focus towards you when I feel lonely. Allow me to rejoice in your consistency. I love you and thank you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Smile Through Anger

CJ Montgomery — Thu, 30 May 2019 07:00:44 +0000

Scripture: Psalm 4

Key Verse: Psalm 4:4 (NLT)

If we all are really honest, we can easily admit that we’ve been mad about something at some point. The anger could be a childhood memory or something more recent, but anger is a common emotion. God acknowledges that we get upset. He understands that life has its trials and tribulations, but what He wants us to remember is that just because we are angry doesn’t mean we get to sin.

In Psalm 4, we see David pleading to God for a response to His prayer. He desperately wants God’s attention, so that he can have peace in his life (v.1). He prays with a deep zeal to allow for God’s greater power. He recognizes that only God has the power to free him from all that he is currently experiencing. We must have this same mentality because people will speak poorly about us and lie on us (v.2). They will try to discourage us, but we must have faith that God will see us through until the very end (v.3). God has a plan for everyone’s life even if it isn’t always clear to us. The important thing is to be patient.

During my high school career, I spent a lot of nights angry, because so many people said that I wouldn’t graduate or doubted that I would make it very far because of my environment. People made assumptions about who I was before ever really getting to know me. I wanted to yell at those people and speak badly about them too. I wanted them to feel the pain I felt when they said such mean things. If I’m being transparent, there are some people who I may have said some rude things too out of anger. However, after calming down, I usually apologized for my actions. Prior to graduating, God showed me how to redirect my anger. I would sing and dance alone in my room with so much passion that I would feel exceedingly better. This alone time allowed me to learn to trust God to fight my battles (v.4). It was important that I didn’t go to bed without addressing my emotions because that would make me form a grudge towards them. Now as a junior in college, I rely more on God to take people in and out of my life because only He knows what is best for me. Sometimes those changes He makes for me or that I make after meditating on His word hurts because there are some people I really want to keep forever and there are some actions that make me comfortable. But I know that God is the only consistent person who can bring incomparable comfort that I will have forever. I give Him my time, and He gives me the peace I desperately desire (v.5).

People around you will still question the circumstances, but we must pray for them (v.6). They will not understand why you still tell them to have a good day even though they constantly ignore you. They will not understand why you offer to help them carry things when they usually let the door close on you. They will not understand why you continue to check on them even though they never initiate the conversation. More importantly, they will not understand that your joy is not rooted in material things (v.7). It comes from a greater power source. The Bible reminds us in Isaiah 54:17 that “no weapon formed against you shall prosper.” This means that the words people say against us and the actions they perform (intentionally and unintentionally) will not kill us because God is constantly protecting us. We must not allow our emotions to stand in the way of our blessings. We have to look to God for our peace and protection (v.8).

Prayer: Lord thank you for helping me to deal with my anger. Thank you for reminding me that I can find joy in you no matter what the world throws my way. Lord, I thank you for your peace and protection that covers me at all times. Lord, please forgive me for all the times I sinned out of anger. I pray that you allow me to go back to all those that I have wronged and ask their forgiveness. I can’t fight these battles without you God. I thank you and praise you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Smile Through Unforgiveness

CJ Montgomery — Thu, 06 Jun 2019 07:00:39 +0000

Scripture: Colossians 3:12-17

Key Verse: Colossians 3:13

People in this world can do and say some really mean things. If we think about it, there have been times where we have done something that has hurt someone even if it wasn’t always intentional. As Christians, we must remember to not hold grudges against people.

We must first understand that God has chosen us to represent Him and everything He stands for on Earth. This means that we cannot just go about our day to day life acting crazy. There are many people that don’t have a relationship with Christ. So, His love should be the motivation for us to lead people to salvation. The same way we put on clothes to prepare for each day there are certain characteristics we should put in our mind every day to ensure that we are properly representing Christ (v.12).

One of the major things we must remind ourselves to do is forgive other people. I know it is really hard, but there are benefits. When you forgive someone, you allow yourself to release mental attachment. Do you realize how much energy it takes to hold a grudge against someone? Literally everything they do annoys you. They could cough and you would have something to say. They could be doing well in life and it could ruin your day. The grudge allows them to have control over your mind. If they are controlling your mind, you begin to harvest hatred in your heart. The hatred in your heart then distracts you from fully worshipping God because after all you are supposed to have God’s word written on the tablet of your heart. How would you feel if God held a grudge against you and didn’t allow you to grow as an individual? We all make mistakes and some of them hurt more than others, but the important thing is to not freeze people in time.

It is easier to forgive someone and be a good representative for Christ if you ground yourself in love (v.14). I realize that I make this sound easy, but it takes time because you have to make it a habit. Instead of never speaking to the person who said you wouldn’t make it far in life when you were both in ninth grade, try reaching out to see how they are doing. Ask about their wellbeing. Understand that the reason the person might not have contacted you when you had a death in your family might have been because they were going through something themselves. I think we often forget that the people we choose not to forgive are human too. We must be willing to show them grace and be peacemakers instead of adding more fuel to the fire (v.15). Saying nothing to someone is just as bad as saying something worse because we are not addressing the root of the issue, which then adds to it. I know that personally my mind always goes to the worst-case scenario. So, I would rather be hurt by the confrontation and have clear closure and boundaries than continue walking around on eggshells waiting for the person to snap. Nonetheless, as Christians, we have to pray for everyone and encourage others by offering kind words (v.16). If you don’t know how try reading God’s word and listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit for direction. We have complete access to God’s infinite power as His children, and we should be grateful for the power because that means all of these “battles” on Earth have already been won (v.17). He wants to help us grow and be more like Him, which includes overcoming this spirit of unforgiveness. The question is: “Who do you need to forgive today?”

Prayer: Lord I want to thank you for reminding me of the characteristics I should be displaying to live more like you. Thank you for forgiving me when I sinned or was outside of your will for my life. Please allow me to forgive those who have hurt me. Give me the courage to reach out to people that I hold grudges in my heart against and make amends. Lord, I love you. I thank you, and I praise you in advance for all that you have done and all that you are getting ready to do in my life. I know that change is coming. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Smile Through Doubt

CJ Montgomery — Thu, 13 Jun 2019 07:00:00 +0000

Scripture: Mark 11:20-25

Key Verse: Mark 11: 23

Sometimes giving a smile can be hard when everything around you looks bad. Life can feel like no matter where you go all you face is rejection and disappointment. However, God has given us the power to speak life into our situations. We cannot continue to have doubt about God’s plan for our life. We must smile about the things that are to come.

In Mark 11:21, Peter draws Jesus’ attention to the tree that he had cursed the day before. (In life we often try to show God things that He has already spoken over.) We want Him to look at our friendships and fix them, but He already cursed them because they were not for us. We want Him to look at our jobs, but He already cursed that because He wants us to begin to look somewhere else. We want an increase in our finances, but maybe those are low to draw our attention back to the true source. A fig tree obviously produces figs, and those figs bring about nutrients. Have you ever thought about the fact that nutrients that are good for one person may not be good for you? We have to trust that God knows what He is doing, which is why we get Jesus’ response to “have faith in God” (v.22). This means that we must fully trust and rely on Him.

God expects us to speak life into our situations and not to doubt that things won’t work out. The mountains in verse 23 represent the large problems in our life. So, when we are praying for the toxic relationships to improve, we can’t start back worrying and speaking negatively about them a few seconds later. We can’t pray about our jobs being stressful and then continue bad mouthing the stress while expecting the situation to get better. We can’t pray about our finances and then complain about how our bills aren’t paid. We have to speak life into these situations.

More importantly, we have to actually pray (v.24). It’s one thing to say that we will pray about something, and it’s another thing to actually pray. Prayer is our way of communicating with God. It is our way of opening up to Him and telling Him what we need. But prayers without power are useless. We must walk in faith as if God has already blessed us with the thing we’ve been praying for. If your friendships are failing start speaking over those friendships like they are the best ones you’ve ever had. If you’re job stresses you out all the time, start telling yourself that you love your job and you have the best job ever. If your money is looking funny and the bills are almost due, claim that you will have electricity, running water, and a roof over your head with money to spare. But you can’t just say it and not mean it, you have to really believe that God is going to make these changes in your life. We must remember that before you can start praying for ourselves, we have to pray for those around us. Everyone, you allowed your negative mindset to impact and those who you cast doubt upon must be included in your prayer. In order for God to bless you and forgive you, you must grant that same grace to others.

Ask yourself what you need God to curse and remove and then ask God for the strength to speak life into those situations during the meantime. It might take some time to reflect. Don’t rush the process because you are going to have to believe it. When some things start dying around you, it might hurt, and you are going to want the Teacher to look. However, God knows what He’s doing. We just have to smile through the doubt.

Prayer: Lord today we just want to thank you. Thank you for killing off some things in my life and for giving me the power to speak life into these dead situations. Lord thank you for being willing to just look at my life. Lord, please help me to forgive those who have hurt me and allow those I have hurt to forgive me. Lord bless them and keep them. Remove my doubt and restore my faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen.