Sometimes God does not answer our prayers in the way we think He should. There may be times when we pray for God to make us more patient, more loving, more understanding, more kind; and it seems like just as soon as we say, “Amen,” then all hell breaks loose in our lives. Sometimes God does not just zap us into the type of Christians He wants us to be, but instead, He brings trials and affliction into our lives to apply just the right amount of pressure to make us conform to His image.
In Psalm 66, the Psalmist begins with praises to God. He praises God for all of His awesome deeds (v.4) and invites everyone to “come and see what God has done” (v.5). He praises God for “turning the sea into dry land” (v.6); He thanks God for “watch[ing] the nations” (v.7); He praises God for “preserving our lives” (v.9), and keeping “our feet from slipping” (v.9), and interestingly, the Psalmist praises God for something we might not often remember to praise God for on the surface: The Psalmist thanks God for “testing us” (v.10). He praises God for affliction saying, “You refined us like silver; you brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs” (v.11). Bringing us into prison! Laying burdens on our backs! What does the Psalmist mean by this?
I don’t think the Psalmist was sleepy or made a mistake when he penned this verse. The Psalmist understood that there may be times when God chooses to make us into the Christians He wants us to be, by subjecting us to the refining fire of affliction. Sometimes God uses the pain of testing to purge away all the impurities that are not consistent with Holy, Godly character. Even though the pain and sorrow may be uncomfortable, discipline is ultimately for our good, so that we may be refined into precious metal; shiny, glowing, and valuable in God’s sight. Similarly Hebrews 12:7 and 11 teaches us, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children” (v.7) ...“no discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (v. 11).
Yes! The Psalmist praises God for his tests! He praises God for the refining fire that will make him like silver! Don’t get discouraged if you pray for patience and suddenly your spouse, children and co-workers test your patience to new heights and levels never seen before; it may not be pleasant now, but later on, if you have been trained by God’s hand, you will begin to see a harvest of patience in your life. Likewise, please don’t be surprised if you pray to be kinder and gentler and instead of it happening overnight you find yourself in situations that test and train you on a hands-on level about what it means to truly to be kind to others. Hang in there, God is pruning and refining you to produce good fruit. Although the answers to our prayers may not come the way we think they should, they will come. As the Psalmist concludes his praise, “God has surely listened and has heard my prayer. Praise be to God, who has not rejected my prayer or withheld his love from me!” (Ps. 66:19-20). Be encouraged, “[T]he Lord disciplines the one He loves.” (Heb. 12:6)

Have you ever been in a blue funk? Are there days when you feel lethargic, unmotivated, and generally unhappy with everyone and everything around you, but you can’t really pinpoint why you feel this way? What do you do when you have one those days when traffic is backed up and you’re late for work; your sinuses are draining down the back of your throat; your spouse is angry you didn’t do X, Y, or Z and you come home to find that you don’t have everything you need in the fridge to cook what you planned for dinner?
If this doesn’t sound like you, then insert whatever scenario you want to above. We all have days when we just feel…bad, sad, or mad!! How do we get ourselves out of a blue funk?
I think the key is to focus on having an attitude of gratitude. Instead of focusing on what is going wrong around you, or what you don’t have, or what you wanted to happen that didn’t; focus on what you do have and what is right about your life. There are times when we all get discouraged and disheartened. You have to consciously try not to throw a pity party about this, that and the other that’s wrong. One exercise I do when I find myself in blue-funk-land is to immediately try to make mental list of the things that God has blessed me with. God has done so much for me that just thinking about it quickly lifts my mood and makes me realize I have much to be thankful for and nothing to complain about. In Philippians 4:8, Paul gives us some excellent advice about how to navigate the daily grind of our lives. He states “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” I have found that no matter how seemingly “wrong,” or “bad,” a day may be going, even in the midst of it all, I can think of innumerable things that are “right,” “good,” “excellent,” “lovely,” and “praiseworthy” about my life; and these are the things I choose to meditate on. Trust me, it’s hard to be unhappy and disgruntled when you are mentally going through the countless ways God has been good! Don’t let a blue-funk cloud your day. Remember the goodness of God and be thankful! Watch those clouds fade away…

By: Paula Davis, Contributing Writer
Have you ever been in love with someone and thought he or she was so attractive, so lovely or handsome, that all you can do when you were with your beloved is gaze into his or her eyes in amazement? And then there are the other times when you think he or she isn’t looking at you and you steal a glance at him quickly with inner joy and happiness, happiness that he is yours and you are his. In Psalm 27:4 David writes that one of the things he seeks is, “to dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of [his] life, [and] to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD.” This verse struck me in its wonderful simplicity, “how often do I seek to just be in God’s presence, and gaze adoringly at His beauty?”
Although Psalm 27 is full of the potential calamities that surround David each day, David maintains his confidence (v.3) and does not fear. He sees “evildoers [who] assail [him] [seeking] to eat up [his] flesh” (v.2), His life is full of “adversaries and foes” (v.2); Yet despite all of these potential dangers seen and unseen, David is able to keep his composure under stressful and harmful situations by focusing on God. His gaze, is not on his enemies, nor the dangers on every side; David sets his sights only on his “light and [his] salvation” (v.1), the LORD.

How is your vision today? Are you filled with uncertainty, worrying about the dangers and enemies that may await you around every corner? Reposition your gaze. When you are with the love of your life, it doesn’t matter what’s happening all around you, just being in his or her presence makes you feel loved and secure. So it is with God. David writes, “For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock” (v.5). David understands that it is in the presence of the LORD where you will find safety and protection from whatever worries or fears that come your way. Take some time today to just behold “the beauty of the LORD” (v.4). Instead of focusing on the darkness, turn your gaze to the marvelous Light.