“We choose our attitudes!” A quote I just read in a book that I am currently reading titled Lord, Change My Attitude (Before It’s Too Late). It’s a good read so far. Anyhoo…today, I learned a valuable lesson…I learned that your attitude creates your atmoshphere. Excuse me…I learned that MY attitude creates MY atmosphere. Now, I mean, I’d heard it…I believed it…I’ve even quoted it…but today, I learned it! I learned that choosing my attitude isn’t like picking which pair of shoes to wear…although that is sometimes a difficult task. But depending on the situation, choosing MY attitude…the RIGHT attitude…can be HARD!!!
I learned that, in order to be most effective, even if you are in a disagreeable situation, your attitude MUST be in check at ALL TIMES. And…well…I failed! I failed to check MY attitude…I failed MISERABLY. And, it’s really a bummer too. I was disappointed in myself, for hours afterward. I mean, down in the dumps disappointed in my attitude and my lack of positivity. I prayed…I even cried (no, I really did cry). Now, you gotta know me to understand how hard I am on myself. I was the kid that sent herself to her own room growing up when mom gave “the look.” So, yeah, I didn’t rob a bank or anything but my attitude sucked and I felt as if I’d failed…like…I failed God. God, who is so sovereign and merciful to me, I let Him down because I couldn’t check myself long enough for Him to at least get the glory out of how I handled it. So…in that moment…I…Alecia M. White…FAILED! UGH…won’t do that again!!!
My entire point is, there will be some situations that you find yourself in that you don’t agree with. There WILL be some that you WILL be correct in being upset about or disappointed in, but it’s all in how YOU handle them. Today, we took communion, and it was then that I realized how off I’d been. I mean, think about it, if Jesus had taken another attitude toward dying for our sins, we’d be lost…doomed…with no hope. He could have spent His time being upset about how He was being treated or even how He was to be treated (He clearly already knew what would happen…He’s God), but He didn’t! Instead, he preached and prayed for those who would betray Him. Even hanging on the cross, He prayed for them to be forgiven (see Luke 23:34). The God of glory hung on a tree and asked that his murderers be forgiven…like He gave them a pass…they were mocking Him and piercing him AFTER beating Him and he forgave them. So, if He…God…the Lord of ALL…had that attitude, then I KNOW I need to make a conscious effort to keep mine in check. And know that if you don’t make the choice to acknowledge your bad attitude, God will send someone along to bring it to your attention. (Ask me how I know…better yet…don’t. Lol…okay…serious face. :-I)
BUT in all the checking of YOUR OWN attitude, be sure that you don’t get stuck in feeling bad about how you handled a situation. Like…today, I really wanted to just be upset with me. One lesson that I had to learn was to forgive myself for mistakes that I’d made. Now, we always hear about forgiving ourselves for the big stuff that we do but we have to add in that “small stuff” too. The small stuff that creates the big stuff…like BAD ATTITUDES. And having a bad attitude is a mistake that I sometimes make so I had to forgive myself for it. AFTER I prayed and asked God for His forgiveness, that is. 1 John 1:9 says: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Now, once we are forgiven by Christ, there is no need to dwell where we are forgiven from…and no need to return. So, since God forgave me, I had no choice but to forgive myself and vow to check my attitude and be aware of the atmosphere that I am creating. I mean, lets face it, we all have negative moments. We just have to be careful not to get stuck in those moments.
Hey…I’m not perfect but I am definitely being perfected so I have NO EXCUSE to have an attitude that SUCKS and not have the God given grace to check it! And neither do you! Hebrews 13:20-21 says: “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” In the Amplified Bible, verse 21 reads like so: “Strengthen (complete, perfect) and make you what you ought to be and equip you with everything good that you may carry out His will; [while He Himself] works in you and accomplishes that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ (the Messiah); to Whom be the glory forever and ever (to the ages of the ages). Amen (so be it).”
So…in all that, I apologize, to even you, for my attitude…because I’ve learned that we affect each other in what we do. And though you may be miles and miles away from me, I failed you too. In my moment of negativity, I couldn’t effectively pray for or set a positive example for you. But learn from my moment on today. And remember, your attitude creates your atmosphere. Choose a positive one!
Selah.
Ms. A.M.White