Letting God Dictate Your Mood

Have you ever allowed the reactions of others to dictate your mood? I know I have and have often stressed myself out wondering if I have offended someone or caused them in some way to become displeased with me by either my words or actions. (Now, I am not speaking of purposeful rudeness or moments of being inconsiderate, simply plain conversation or actions where we may feel as if we may say or do the wrong thing and in turn ruin things for ourselves.) Whether people, by their own actions or responses to me in the past have caused or led me to feel that way, I learned during a simple time of prayer with God that I was allowing people to be the "sun" and "clouds" in my day, dictating how I felt about myself and my future and in turn allowing it to determine my mood for the day. If I had a good word, then my day was awesome, but if not, I allowed myself to become somewhat weighed down, waiting for the next sunny moment to arrive. By letting others' words or responses become the primary gauge of how good my day would be and waiting for some morsel of goodwill from them, I realized that I had been putting people in a place where only God should be. He alone owns the place of being the central focus of our lives, being the true Light and Joy to guide our day. When the joy of the Lord is our source of strength there is no need to become concerned over what people think or how our day is "treating" us; He is our ever present help and there is no shadow of turning with Him. When we give people the power to dictate our mood, life can become very dismal. You see, people change from day to day- their moods, their feelings, and their desires, and like you and me, they too experience ups and downs. In fact, their own difficulties may be some of the reason they give off negative vibes, which- if you are not careful- may end up influencing your feelings about your own life. You may read their emotions and feelings as if they are a mirror showing you what your life looks like, but this is not God's way or the truth. In fact, the Scripture shows us that God desires us to look into His Word as we would a mirror and live by faith, walking out His commands. The Bible clearly states that the fear of man is a trap and how true that is. If we become so wrapped up in what people are thinking of us, we lose sight of Christ and the power He has over our lives and circumstances, as is seen in His Word. I am beginning to realize that I must look to Christ for my encouragement and joy rather than people; in His presence is fullness of joy and peace which surpasses all understanding. So, today, may you be encouraged to let God take over your mood gauge, as you look to Him to meet all of you emotional needs. My prayer is that starting today, I may live out what I have shared and continue to grow ever closer to the Lord as I find my Joy and Strength in Him.