How perfect do circumstances have to be for you to be happy? How right do things have to be for you to see them as right?
Experts say the average American thinks somewhere between 50,000-70,000 thoughts per day and 70% of them are negative. Just how average are you, my sister? It’s also said that the average person says something negative in every minute of a conversation. Yes, every 60 seconds, we speak a negative statement. It’s practically impossible for us to speak without talking about something that’s wrong.
And this is NOT God’s will for his girls. This is not his desire for us. He wants to renew our minds and transform our thoughts. He wants us to be “Just Right Girls”. A Spiritual Goldilocks.
Goldilocks was the little girl who wanders into the house of three bears while they are away. She tries their porridge, finding one too hot, one too cold, and one just right. She then sits in their chairs, finding one was too hard, one was too soft, and one was just right. Finally, she tries out the mattresses in the house until she finds the one that was just right and takes a nap.
There’s a ‘just right’ for you and your Creator is hoping you will receive it, enjoy it and rest in it.
Here’s the problem – we are so focused on what we don’t like, what we don’t want, and what we think isn’t right, that we miss what is just right. Where’s God’s JUST RIGHT for you?
Our study of the book of Genesis brings us to the story of a ‘Just Right’ man. A man who walked right. A man who sought right. A man who continually experienced what wasn’t right, but trusted in God to make it just right for greater purposes.
Genesis 37 – Joseph was one of 12 boys, the sons of Jacob. Joseph was his father’s favorite and this made his 11 brothers sorely jealous. One day at just 17 years old, Joseph’s brothers sold him to a group of traders for 20 pieces of silver and was taken as a slave to Egypt. This is just the beginning of a series of unfortunate events which he didn’t deserve. He’s sold, then falsely accused, then imprisoned, later used, then forgotten. And through the next 22 years, we see Joseph continually faithful. With each up and each down, Joseph trusts God. With every turn, Joseph looks for what was JUST RIGHT.
And he finds that even in unfair circumstances, even in the worst of hardships, even in the greatest of struggles, God was forever doing something that was just right.
Never once do we read of Joseph complaining. Never do we see him becoming bitter. Never do we see him being pitiful. There was no blame, no resentment, no hardened heart. Like Goldilocks, he went from one thing to the next, always seeking what was JUST RIGHT where he was. He was in a pit, finding what was just right. He was in a prison finding what was just right. And eventually, he was in a palace finding what was just right. And what was just right to Joseph wasn’t comfort, control, certainty or convenience. No, quite the opposite. What was just right to Joseph was the building of his character and the calling of God.
What’s JUST RIGHT to you, my sister? How perfect do circumstance have to be for you to be happy? How right do things have to be for you to see them as right?
If I were to ask you how you slept last night, what would your answer be? Would you begin to tell me how hard it is for you to go to sleep? Would you tell me about those hot flashes? Would you tell me about your back, your snoring husband, or your insomnia? That’s what the majority of us would do without even thinking about it. It’s just normal. It’s what we do. It’s habit. 70% of our conversations are going to be negative.
But God’s girls aren’t called to be normal – we’re called to be JUST RIGHT GIRLS.