Sustainable Monday

Read Philippians 2:12-18

God . . . works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.
-Philippians 2:13 (NIV)

I am not fond of Mondays because they mean the return to another long week of problems at work. A study published in the American Journal of Hypertension showed that the risk of having a heart attack and stroke is higher on Monday than on any other day of the week. My moment of truth came one Sunday evening as I once again began to worry about everything that could go wrong the next day at work where I was surrounded by complaints, problems, and negative people. As I struggled to trust God with my worries, I remembered God's past faithfulness and promises to keep us safe and to give us strength to sustain one day at a time.

Since then, my morning meditation and prayers have sustained me through Mondays and other difficult days. Through God's grace, I have been able to react differently in many difficult circumstances.

Philippians 2:13 says that God is working in us, giving us the desire and power to do what pleases God. I am learning to struggle less and to believe more as God gives me the power to do what accomplishes that "good purpose," even in the most difficult times. God's mercy and grace are sufficient and new every day, including Mondays, so our lives can shine brightly in all circumstances.

by Era Pawlowski (Illinois, USA)