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“What is 3R Thursday?”
3R Thursday is a short devotional written by Cole F. Watson that contains Ramblings, Ruminations, and Reflections published most Thursdays to equip Christians with practical theology and Biblical philosophy.
Previous devotionals can be read here.
Now up, forward, and through 🤝
3R THURSDAY: The Infinite Glory of God
There are good days.
There are average days.
And then there are bad days.
Good Days are the days that have a higher level of joy than an average day.
Good Day
We’ve all had Good Days:
-Winning that case for a client.
-Finding new office space (with all sorts of professional opportunity).
-Having a wonderful day with the family.
Bad Days are those days that have a lower level of joy than an average day.
Bad Day
We’ve all had Bad Days:
-Being reprimanded in court
-Fielding disgruntled client calls
-Watching your son struggling to breathe, ultimately requiring air transport to an intensive care unit in Dallas, TX
The natural response is to ride these waves—the ups and downs—to be on the highest of highs on Good Days and feel the lowests of lows on Bad Days.
In this way, our emotional response to these days is tied to external circumstances—of which we have little to no control.
Of course, this emotional rollercoaster is futile; there will always be more highs; there will always be more lows. The writer of Ecclesiastes calls this “vanity.”
I believe that’s why Stoicism has seen a resurgence in recent years (vis-à-vis Ryan Holiday), especially in entrepreneurial and athletic circles.
Why?
Because when you’re an entrepreneur or an athlete, you ride some really high-highs and subsequently you endure some really low-lows. The wigwag of winning weaves a wistful web wherein warriors with weary wings and waning willpower witness the whirlwind wherein wins and woes are whimsically wound.
Rather than oscillate between the extremes, Stoicism maintains an even-keeled demeanor by recognizing the highs and lows for what they are: external and cyclical.
Stoicism encourage its practitioners to anticipate the highs and lows and with such anticipation, plan your response to such events:
Begin each day by telling yourself: Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness—all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil. But for my part I have long perceived the nature of good and its nobility, the nature of evil and its meanness, and also the nature of the culprit himself, who is my brother (not in the physical sense, but as a fellow creature similarly endowed with reason and a share of the divine); therefore none of those things can injure me, for nobody can implicate me in what is degrading. Neither can I be angry with my brother or fall foul of him; for he and I were born to work together, like a man’s two hands, feet or eyelids, or the upper and lower rows of his teeth. To obstruct each other is against Nature’s law – and what is irritation or aversion but a form of obstruction.
In this way, Stoics train themselves to ignore the pain of Bad Days and deny the joy of Good Days.
With time, the Good Day should be treated in the same way as the Bad Day. When one is having a Good Day, one can anticipate a Bad Day will follow. Likewise, when one is having a Bad Day, one can anticipate a Good Day will follow. Ironically, this flatline, emotional response yo-yos between Pessimism (the Bad Day is coming) and Optimism (the Good Day is coming).
Stoic’s Emotional Response
By all means, the stoic response to Bad Days is a tactic that many wise men employee. But is there something better that Christians should do? Should we have a better answer for the ups and downs that life inevitably has?
Yes, we should. We should believe that God is greater than the ups and downs.
Q: Christian, what is your response to Good Days?
A: “God is greater.”
Q: Christian, what is your response to Bad Days?
A: “God is greater.”
If we only focus on having Good Days, then the pain of Bad Days will be that much worse. We can’t ride a high forever; our souls are not capable of experiencing that much joy…yet…
Yet if we only focus on Bad Days (or a particularly bad week), then we’re robbing ourselves of the joy that comes from Good Days.
Instead, we should focus on the Infinite Glory of God and acknowledge that He is greater than the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows, the Good and Bad. He is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-3). He is the reason we have hope. He is the reason we have life. He is the giver of good gifts (James 1:17).
Paul reminds the Church in Philippi:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
.…
I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.
In this way, we keep our eyes fixed on the Infinite Glory of God and not on our day-to-day circumstances. He is still God, and He is still good. He is greater than we could ever think or imagine—even on our worst days—even when He forces us to trust Him and believe that He can care for our child far better than any one doctor, nurse, respiratory therapist, pediatric pulmonologist, EMT, or transportation team can; that, in fact, God is the God of all glory and is greater than our worst days and certainly greater than our best days.
I have been brought low. I have been raised up high.
And with my eyes on the Infinite Glory of God, I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me.
Go get ‘em, Big-ems!
Hope you have a blessed week.
See you next Thursday,
CFW
P.S. If this encouraged you in anyway, please share with a friend.