The "P" Factors

The "P" Factors In My Life-This blog is the product of another sleepless
night. This time because of sore hands. I wear splints on my hands at night
but, at times, they are a bit tight and cause some discomfort. The nurses
come in around 2:30 to reposition me so I knew that I could get them taken
off
then. While I waited, I figured I might as well think about what to write
about in my next blog rather than focusing on the discomfort.

P #1 is praise. I always think that praise would be easier if I could sing
and raise my hands to God like most other people. Still, I know that my form
of praising means just as much to God. The main thing is that I don't allow
my physical limitations to prevent me from praising and worshiping God. I
praise the Lord for two main reasons. First, I praise Him because He is
worthy of it. 24/7. Just thinking that I am not going to hell because of Him
is enough to make me start praising. Secondly, praising is an antidote for
depression. When I feel down and discouraged, if I MAKE myself start to
praise the Lord, the heaviness soon lifts. It is hard to be depressed and praise
at the same time. Times when I am feeling fine, praise is a preventative measure
that holds depression at bay.

P #2 is promise. The way to know what God has promised is to read the Bible
over and over until the promises show up in your life. I spend quite a bit
of time everyday simply reading the Bible. I have read it many times but
every time I read it, I see something that I never saw before. To be honest,
I love the Bible! I sometimes read it, especially Psalms, when I am feeling
a little down. It isn't long until I feel a whole lot better. Because I am
looking to God for healing, I have gotten to know the healing promises well
but there are many, many other promises in the Bible.

P #3 is prayer. Prayer is a big part of my life. Of course, there is the
prayer that we have at church. And I set aside a time to pray to God after I
have been tucked into bed but before I fall asleep. That is when I thank God
for good things that have happened that day and also when I specifically
pray for other people. However, I know that prayer is simply communication
with God so my favorite time of prayer is all day, every day, when I talk to
Jesus in my mind. Because I spend so much time alone with no human to talk
to, it is comforting to know that I can communicate with Jesus anytime I
want.

P #4 is purpose. So often, I feel like my life is just going round and round
and getting nowhere. But I know that God has a purpose for my life that I
don't
understand. The one purpose that I do understand is that He wants me
physically healed in this life.  But, the how, the when and what I will be
doing after I am healed is, at present, a total mystery. Of course, I know
that my ultimate aim is to go to heaven but that won't be until God has
fulfilled whatever purpose He has for me here on earth.

P #5 is peace. I do have have peace. At least, some of the time. There is a
quiet, peaceful atmosphere in my room with Christian music playing all the
time and, when I have my mind on God and not on the rotten things going on
all
around me, at times I feel downright mellow. Unfortunately, it usually
doesn't take much to disturb that peace. The least little frustration and my
fragile peace is gone. Being as my life is full of frustrations, my
peace usually doesn't last too long at a time.

P # 6 is pursue. If you pursue something, you follow after it. The
implication seems to be that it isn't just going to happen or come to you.
You have to go after it. The Bible says to pursue peace. So, when I lose my
peace, I have to go after it as it isn't going to come back on its own. I do
this by CHOOSING to focus on God and not on what has me so frustrated.

P # 7 is patience. God gave me the promise of healing 30 years ago and I
still haven't seen it. Obviously, I have had no choice but to develop
patience. I have learned that fretting is not going to speed God up. It just
makes my now even more miserable. But, living in Long-term Care requires
patience as well. With 30 residents and minimal staff, somebody is always
going to wait for something. Everyday is an opportunity to practice
patience.

P # 8 is perseverance. I have to just keep on keeping on, no matter how I
feel. I have never seriously thought of giving up for two reasons. First, I
don't see how my life would be any better if I did give up. I wouldn't even
have the hope that I now have. The second reason is that I want to see what
God has for me in the future. I admit, though, there are times that I have
to literally tell myself that I won't give up. I won't, I won't!

P # 9 is plodding. Even though my salvation was quite dramatic and I have
had a few dramatic experiences along the way, the majority of my life is
spent plodding through long day after long day, doing what I know to do,
Bible reading, prayer, church attendence, etc., and leaving the rest up to
God. My emotions, of course, go up and down but they have nothing to do with it.