When I was a teen, I watched a movie where a character complained that every day was the worst day of his life. At the time, the movie spun this off to be a joke, but I think about it every now and again to reflect on how much I can relate to it. However, I relate to this in a different way than might be expected.
Instead of every day being the worst day of my life, my experience has been that, since giving my life to God, every day is the best day of my life. I am not kidding. Even the days that I have migraines, or when bad events keep taking place, or when I make dumb mistakes, I recognize the treasure that this present moment holds and the direction God is leading me. He has helped me to see more clearly the peace and joy that I can have in each and every moment.
I used to always pine for past glorious experiences of my life. I would think about the good ole days and wish I could relive them. I no longer wish for this. God has led me on a tremendous, at times difficult, but always fulfilling, journey to truly love my life as it is right now. And someone might think, “Well, then I guess that means you do not have very many problems”. I can promise this is not true. I still have big problems, but I also have God. And God allows me to see that these problems are in His hands. I may need to work, respond to His directions, and do certain things to take care of what is at hand, but I believe with all my heart that the Lord will guide me.
I recently felt called to put everything I have learned in my journey from being a drug- and alcohol-addicted atheist to a Jesus-loving family man into a 20-week online course to help others develop the same outlook on life and deepen their relationship with God. Essentially, I want everyone to see how every day is the best day of his or her life!
The course is called Unlocked, and it is designed to help you open the locked doors of your life and experience the peace and joy that you were meant for, even in the midst of the difficulties you face each day. These locked doors could be mindsets, attitudes, or behaviors that could be keeping you from living the abundant life that Jesus promises to all of us.
To help unlock these doors, I have come up with 10 Keys, which are tactics, new mindsets, or aspects of the faith that I elaborate on to bring about deeper understanding. This deeper understanding allows you to view the reality of your life in a way that brings you satisfaction and peace even in the midst of conflict. Even more, developing these KEYS in your life will help you enrich your relationship with the Lord, which will set you up for a lifetime of endless growth and joy. In fact, these KEYS are the same tools and understandings that have helped me come to see every new day as the best day of my life.
What’s more, I have been able to experience the 5 changes in my life that have truly uplifted it and have allowed me to navigate and grow despite any challenges I may face.
1. I no longer fear the future. I know my future is in God’s hands. I have had the blessing of seeing Him take care of me miraculously many times to have evidence of this. This means that even when life gets scary, I can trust in Him.
2. I celebrate my mistakes and weaknesses. I have seen God bring good out of too many mistakes and weaknesses to doubt that He cannot do this. I never want to see anyone get hurt by my mistakes, but I know that God will bring justice and goodness through it all and I pray for anyone who may be impacted by my mistakes. However, I also no longer obsess over the past like I used to.
3. I view others as subjects to be loved instead of objects to be used. Before my conversion this was inverted. I have come to see the true beauty of the human person and how people are not here for my pleasure, but I am here to love them.
4. I see God in everything. I almost feel like I was living in the Matrix before my conversion and since then, I can see the code instead of the world around me. I have this beautiful understanding that God is always with me and around me. My life has become a parable that the Lord uses to grow our relationship and show me how much He loves me.
5. I have a better decision making process that helps me know what to do. My old decision making process of “do whatever feels good” unsurprisingly failed me. I have since learned to make better decisions through prayer and discernment that has always lead me in the right direction. Not to say that I get things right 10/10 times, but my decision making process helps me to at least not stray too far from the course.
If you or someone you love is seeking all these things and more as well, I invite you to sign up and begin your journey. Access to the course begins Tuesday August 15, but you are free to start the course after that at your convenience.
Please check out the video below to learn more about the course and get an idea of what the video lessons will look like. If you have any questions, please reach out to info@zenithministries.com.
