Lately, I’ve been thinking about how our environment can effect our state of mind.  I was thinking of this because I was reminiscing on how it was when I first moved to Germany.  Coming from Atlanta, Georgia, this moved literally flipped my world upside down.  I absolutely despised it when I got here.  I did not want to come in the first place because I had never been so far away from my family.  Then when I got here the weather was cold, we are in a small country area where there really isn’t much around, it is cold, I did not like the food, I did not understand the language and did I mention it was very, very cold.  It took me about a year to really adapt and accept the fact that I was living in Germany.  In that year of adjustment I was not a very happy camper.  I did not want to go anywhere.  I did meet a few nice people but within a few months they all slowly started moving back to the states.  It was just a very tough transition for me.  I said all of that to say this, I was in a new environment and even though I did not like it, I allowed it to control me in a sense that it changed my entire outlook on life.  I allowed it to stop me and slow me down from truly operating in the full purpose of me being here.  I knew that God had sent me over here for a reason, and oddly enough I even had a strong spirit of expectation coming over.  I was expecting great things, but I was so stuck on me and being selfish that God could not begin to work in me like He wanted to.  Instead of me making the most of this new country I was living in, I chose to be miserable.  That’s right, I made a decision.  Therefore I was unable to be very effective because I was so stuck in my unhappy living situation.

How do we still fulfill our purpose and make the most out of situations where we are unhappy?  This is a tough question to answer.  I think it all goes back to perspective and not allowing your environment, or even people you surround yourself with to hold you back.  We have to accept life as it is handed to us and decide to make the most of it.  No matter who, what, when or where.

I’ve also noticed when talking with a few people about their job lately, they’ve mentioned how the environment at their job has had a negative impact on them.  I can see this happening, mainly because your workplace is somewhere you typically go on a regular basis.  This is no different from when children go to school and their behavior begins to rub off on each other.  For Christians however, having your own, individual, personal relationship with God is how this can be avoided. When you have your own special relationship with Him, you realize more and more about who He is, but you also realize more and more about who you are in Him.  When you know who you are in Christ, you have a confidence about yourself.  You go places knowing you have the power and authority to shift the atmosphere.  So whether it is work, school, or the grocery store, you take God with you.  Instead of the folks around you having a negative impact on you, you begin to have a positive impact on them.  The roles are reversed.

Learning how to take the good, the bad and the ugly and truly optimize the moment is the purpose of this message.  In order for us to fully be used at our utmost potential by God, we have to make a choice to do so.  When we make the choice, we should not allow anything, including our environment to stop us from moving forward and walking in our destiny.  #iDeclare #makethemostofit

Prayer:

Father God, in the name of Jesus.  I thank you for pushing me towards my destiny.  Forgive me for times when I allow the things going on around me to hinder me from moving forward.  Thank you for loving me and desiring a personal relationship with me.  As I draw closer to you, please help me to learn more about you and about myself.  Help me to walk in the knowledge of who I am in Christ at all times God.  I decree and declare that no matter what my environment is, I will make the most of it.  I will shift the atmosphere for the glory of God.  I will be a leader and not a follower.  Instead of me conforming to the ways of the world, I decree and declare that I have been transformed by the renewing of my mind in Christ Jesus.  Thank you God for hearing my prayer, In Jesus Name.  Amen.

Scripture References:

Romans 12:2 ESV “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Philippians 2:5 KJV “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:”