How to Get Up on the Right Side of the Bed
Have you ever been asked, “Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed?” Has anyone treated you curt, sharp, or unkind, and have you in turn written them off as one who got up on the wrong side of the bed?
Let me help you “get up on the right side of the bed” by following four simple rules:
1. Go to Sleep in the Right Frame of Mind.
In the Hebrew calculation, the day begins with evening. The Psalmist says “Evening, morning, and at noon will I pray....” In Genesis we discover that God walked with Adam and Eve in the “cool of the day.” This is usually recognized as the evening.
God wants us to spend the day with Him. We usually respond with, “We also want to spend the day with God; we’ll begin first thing in the evening.” God says, “Let’s begin with the last thing at night” (Psalm 141:2).
I suggest not filling your mind with the bad news of our current events before you go to sleep. Crime, war, and certainly the weather report is not going to adjust your spirit to be receptive to faith, hope, and love. The scriptures, good books, and pleasant music could set your spirit in a “receptive modem” to the ways of God.
2. Be Thankful You Can Get Up.
I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks.…” There are many people, due to a crippling disease or illness, that cannot rise out of bed when they wake up. One man said, “I used to feel sorry for myself because I had no shoes until one day I found a young man who had no feet.”
3. Trace Your Attitude to the Roots.
Luke 3:9 says, “...also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees....” This describes the ministry of John the Baptist. John went past the peripheral and “right to the root.”
Try this exercise:
· Are you acting grouchy because something is worrying you? Then lay the axe of Philippians 4:6-8 to that problem.
· Are you hurting others because others are hurting you? Then lay the axe of Psalm 119:165 to that problem.
· Are you saying, “I don’t know what’s wrong with me; things aren’t going my way.” Then lay the axe of Philippians 2:4 to that problem.
4. Slide Your Bed Against the Wall.
In other words, be determined. I’ve often said that I’m just going to keep smiling if for no other reason than just to confuse the devil. Don’t let someone or something “get your goat.” Slide your bed against the wall and make yourself get up on the right side of the bed!
-Pastor Pope-