Courtesy: tinybuddha.com
ARE YOU BORED WITH LIFE OR FEEL PURPOSELESS:
Perhaps you have found yourself getting bored doing the same thing day after day. You wake up in the morning, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch TV and then go to bed. Boredom has set in. Your weekend routine is different, but overall each day seems pretty much the same. Life is boring.
• You drift through life, almost like a sleepwalker.
You may sleepwalk through life, or simply put in your time until you die and face God. For example, you may:
o Live day-to-day bored, without a sense of purpose.
o Have trouble identifying your purpose.
o Ignore God's purpose for your life.
• You are consumed by your difficulties and troubles.
You may find life frustrating because of all the problems you face. Your boss is unfair, your coworkers don't like you, your spouse nags, everything is breaking down at home and your children are a pain in the neck.
• A great solution to boredom is to live life as an adventure.
You have a choice about your attitude, about how you approach life, about turning to God for "boredom cure." Life does not need to be boring or meaningless for Christians. You can choose to approach every day and every activity in your life with a spirit of adventure, regardless of your situation. You have a purpose, irrespective of what, at the heart of your purpose is a great adventure—to touch people's lives for God.
“For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10).
• To be successful in your adventures, walk in God's strength, not your own:
In Samuel 14:1-15, we read about Jonathan, a man who succeeded against impossible odds because he battled in the power of God. Bathe your projects and your life in prayer. Stay close to the Lord. Remember that you are a soldier in Jesus' army, not the general of your own army. When you walk in God's strength, you will not be bored!
Five "boredom cures":
o Escape boredom: Make everything you do an adventure.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men (Colossians 3:23).
o Escape boredom: Make it an adventure to minister Jesus to others.
You are an ambassador of Christ.
Courtesy: www.theologyofwork.org
(2 Corinthians 5:20 and Ephesians 6:20).
Pray andlook for opportunities to be a good ambassador in everything you do and everywhere you go.
o Pray and look for opportunities to tell others about Jesus (Matthew 28:19).
o Pray and look for opportunities to help others.
o Pray and look for opportunities to encourage others in the Lord (Ephesians 4:29).
o Escape boredom: Make it an adventure to pray for others.
Devote yourself to prayer. Study Colossians 4:2.
o Escape boredom: Make it an adventure to grow in the Lord.
Many people make it an adventure to grow in physical strength or athletic abilities. That does a little good, but growing in godliness does much more good (1 Timothy 4:8).
• Pray and look for opportunities to develop your gifts and talents.
(2 Timothy 1:6).
• Pray and look for opportunities to grow in the Lord.
• Approach Bible study as an adventure.
Treat is as a way to know God better and to grow in him. Read the Bible daily. Ask the Lord to help you look at Bible study as a delight, not a chore.
Praise the Lord. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in his commands (Psalm 112:1).
I delight in your decrees; I will not neglect your word (Psalm 119:16).
• Escape boredom: Respond to adversity with a spirit of adventure.
It can be thrilling and rewarding to live life as an adventure, but remember that adventures are often difficult. Be prepared to go through hard times without giving up.
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 (John 16:33).
• Resist the devil (James 4:7).
• Pray to win your opponents over and overcome evil with good (1 Peter 3:9).
• a. If someone criticizes Christianity, see it as an opportunity to share the gospel.
b. If others are mean to you, make it a project to demonstrate God's love to them.
c. If you need to confront someone, see it as an opportunity to lovingly help him
or her (Galatians 6:1).
• See problems as opportunities to grow in love, patience and wisdom. Pray, "Thank you, God for this opportunity to grow in faith and wisdom." Read Romans 5:3-4 and James 1:2-4.
Personal application.
Write one way in which you will apply these "boredom cures" and approach life as an adventure this week, then pray for God to help you maintain a spirit of adventure.