A VACATION FROM STRESS
August is a time of finishing up the summer and preparing for the fall. Final family visits and last seconds at the beach may be enjoyed. It can also be a time of intense stress simply because people are involved.
People are beautifully unique and equally irritating because the things that make us beautifully unique can irritate the sanity out of others and vice versa. Before going on a family vacation with my extended family, God had me read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. The Ten Booms were a Christian Dutch family living in Holland during World War II. They hid Jewish people, and they were eventually caught and sent to the concentration camps themselves. God had me read this book for many humbling reasons, but one reason I know He had me read it was to prepare my heart to love and tolerate others through the eyes of Christ.
Vacations can have challenging times as we spend time with family and friends. Conversely, when other people get to have vacations and we are left behind in the mundane valley of everyday life, we can be challenged to not covet other’s time away. Either way, Summer time can be hard because life is hard.
John 16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
God’s Word is speaking to me in a new way this summer. He is charging me with the task of taking heart. To take heart means to take courage. Simply put, I have asked God to help me have the courage to get over myself and my faulty, fleshly perceptions. It’s amazing how our perspective changes when we stop looking at others through our physical eyes. I will add that this is only possible when we ask the Holy Spirit to do in us and through us what we can’t do ourselves. When we ask, He empowers us to see others through the love of Christ.
Have you had a “challenge” this summer that the Holy Spirit gave you victory by giving you a new perspective?
Whether you are finishing up a vacation, going on a final vacation, or wishing you were on vacation, I challenge you to read Corrie Ten Boom’s story and ask God to change your perspective. God continually amazes me! He often leaves the circumstance the same, but circumcises my heart – giving me an eternal perspective on my present challenges.
Originally published Tuesday, 07 August 2018.
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