Imagine it’s 6:00 am Monday morning and your alarm just went off. What is the first thing you do? The standard grunting and groaning, covering your head with the comforter – trying to come up with an elaborate excuse to get out of work. You eventually come to your senses, both feet aggressively hit the ground and the cloud of grumpiness you created follows you until the last drip of coffee enters your system.
This Monday morning scenario is just a small example of how we allow negativity to set the tone of our days, weeks and even years. When we start there, we miss out on what God truly has in store for us.
What would happen if we approached Monday in whole new way? What if when the alarm went off, the first thing we did was praise Jesus for the sunshine coming through the blinds? Instead of contemplating ways to get out of work, we look forward to the day the Lord has planned for us. Instead of being grumpy because we don’t have our coffee yet, we are joyful because we have the luxury of even having coffee.
Hebrews 12:2 (MSG) “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God.”
Keep. Your. Eyes. On. Jesus.
This is something most of us have heard before, one of those verses we skim over because we think “Yeah, of course!” But it is those verses we need to dive into even deeper. We pass by these verses because we are familiar with them…but are we really practicing them? If we are living in a place of discontentment, frustration, and lacking peace, it’s safe to say we aren’t.
Keep. Your. Eyes. On. Jesus.
The trials of life can easily consume us. It’s the human condition to allow one negative thing to blind us from everything great in the moment. We hold onto negative memories like they are the only ones we have. Why do we let them define us? Why do we idolize our pain? An idol is
something you worship, and worshipping something is holding it in the highest regard, keeping all your focus on it and allowing it to rule over you.
When we keep our eyes on Jesus, we can’t help but to be in a position of thanksgiving and praise. We see a shift in our mindset, and the trials turn into lessons. When we know God, and genuinely trust Him, the growing pains become a blessing. Life’s most painful moments transform us into stronger versions of ourselves, with newfound knowledge, experience, and empathy for others.
Gratitude can become as second nature as taking a breath, but it does take time. We have to train our minds to choose it, and many times this requires a major shift in our perspective. When you drink a glass of water, are you praising Jesus that it is clean? Are you grateful that you didn’t have to walk miles and miles to a river, only to carry enough back to wash the four items of clothing you have? When you lay your head down to sleep at night, are you praising Jesus for a pillow and a mattress, knowing there are little ones all over the world who have never felt the comfort of being wrapped up in a blanket? When you turn on the AC in your house or car, are you praising Jesus for the escape from the heat, recognizing that there are millions of people who do not have that luxury? These are just a few of the things that we take for granted daily, but when we keep our eyes on Jesus, our perspective shifts. Everything around us becomes a blessing, and we can properly praise our heavenly Father for his continued love, grace, and provision!
Thank you, Lord, for the abundance of blessings you pour out on us every single day, especially the ones we turn a blind eye to. I pray for a change in our hearts, that every moment will become an opportunity to praise You. I pray that our thanksgiving will become contagious, showing the world who You are, Lord! Thank you for Monday mornings.
You post this on the morning that I sleep through all my alarms, am an hour late to work trying to find a way out of it, only to get in and read this! God is good! Thank you for posting!
I think this is something we all NEED to read on this Monday morning. Thank you so much for this sweet reminder.
Great post! The idea of waking up happy on a Monday morning reminds me of a challenge I made for myself during the school year. The first part was "Out Loud". I wanted to wake up every morning with a prayer of thanks and a song to sing and dance to. The second part was "Quiet". This was much easier to practice at school: each day, I would smile at at least five strangers and then pray for them. Walking down the hall, I would glance at a person and remind myself that Jesus loves them and that they were made in His image… Just like I was.
These challenges help me not only keep myself happier, but pass on this peace of mind and all my smiles to other people too. Especially on Monday mornings. 🙂
This isn’t incredible! My pastor sort of touched on this yesterday. The shift of perspective is definitely needed!!
Such a great reminder and thank you so much for these words! ❤️❤️❤️
This was beautiful and I praise God for this original tour and thank him for all these testimonies and words that we get to read so we can grow with God and be grateful for the things he has given us
Such a great reminder! Definitely gonna remember this every time i start to groan about getting up early.
Wow, I needed this. With college about to start again I have been dreading having to get up early again. This puts a new perspective and makes me feel better about getting to rejoice in the mornings.
Wow! What a great statement. Like some boys and girls I struggle with depression a lot, but after reading that it really makes me laugh at myself and cry with joy because if I have a lot more than some people in the world shouldn’t that say something for how much God loves me but sadly my heart daily is unwilling to notice that because I just hate how I look and after looking at other people and seeing how beautiful they look it really makes me get angry at myself and cry asking God why I have to look as hideous I do but I know deep down that in the Bible God says that each of us are fearfully and wonderfully made so we shouldn’t care about what others think of us only what our creator thinks is what counts. Thank you, just that short statement has inspired me to live differently, and even though trials will come and tomorrow I will probably struggle with depression again I will have this to lean on and tell the devil ‘No, I am not ugly! I am not hideous! And I am definitely not an abomination! For it is written "Wow! What a great statement. Like some boys and girls I struggle with depression a lot, but after reading that it really makes me laugh at myself and cry with joy because if I have a lot more than some people in the world shouldn’t that say something for how much God loves me but sadly my heart daily is unwilling to notice that because I just hate how I look and after looking at other people and seeing how beautiful they look it really makes me get angry at myself and cry asking God why I have to look as hideous I do but I know deep down that in the Bible God says that each of us are beautifully and wonderfully made so we shouldn’t care about what others think of us only what our creator thinks is what counts. Thank you, just that short statement has inspired me to live differently, and even though trials will come and tomorrow I will probably struggle with depression again I will have this to lean on and tell the devil ‘No, I am not ugly! I am not hideous! And I am definitely not an abomination! For it is written "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well (Psalms 139:14 ESV)."’ Thank you so much!