Morning Devotional

July 28, 2003

“The Smoky Mountains”  

by Don Emmitte

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Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are all called to live in peace. And always be thankful. (Colossians 3:12-15 NLV).

The Smoky Mountains get their name from the fog that seems to always surround the mountaintops. One morning when we were there recently it was especially “smoky.” I couldn’t see across the little valley our cabin overlooked. It didn’t last very long however.

By 9:00 AM it had all burned off and the sky was a clear as it could be. There’s really no mystery to this fact. The fog developed overnight when there was no sun to warm the air and evaporate all that moisture. Sometimes, when the fog gets thick, we just lose sight of the sun. 

In a way, the fog in your life burns off in the sun of two powerful words, words that are hard to say when the fog is thick. Our reading today leads us into the sunshine that burns off your personal fog on those days when everything looks gray. There are three aspects of Jesus’ life that we, as His followers, should be known for in our lives. These three factors that should characterize us: "the peace of Christ", "the word of Christ", and "the name of the Lord Jesus". Now that peace part really appeals to me. Notice they each involve the same key. It is an emphasis on a "thank you" lifestyle. The last word of the apostle is “be thankful . . . with gratitude . . . giving thanks to God." 

Now let’s play back the tapes of you in recent weeks. Were you talking more negative than usual? Is there a tone of pessimism in your talk? A tone of criticism? Of complaining? The fog is rolling in and everything is looking gray to you. I can describe it because I’ve felt it. The fog is winning right now. What you need is the sun and the sun is giving thanks. That means making a decision to focus today on what is rather than what isn’t; to focus on what God has done in your life, to concentrate on answered prayer rather than not-yet answered prayer, and to go through your looking for God. Look for where He’s at work. Remember Paul and Silas singing at midnight in their prison cell? That’s looking for God! 

Now when you stop living gratefully when you stop saying "thank you" throughout the day and looking for things to be thankful for, this dark, gray attitude starts to blanket your soul. The spiritual blahs start to set in. But the fog doesn’t ever have to last long. A "thank you" attitude, a "thank you" mindset, is the sun that burns off your personal fog and turns the darkest day brighter. Try that today! Then you’ll be able to see across the valleys to the mountaintops on the other side!