When God's about to Abandon a Nation: It is always instructive how relevantly it speaks to our time and to our lives that will be true.

https://capmin.org/five-definitive-characteristics-of-righteous-leadership/

The Path of Smart Selfishness Versus The Path of Stupid Selfishness.

To grow, we must learn to discern between that which is self-destructive and the which is self- constructive.

Don't bother your head with braggarts;Those people have no future at all.

The truth is we rarely do anything without some gain or benefit to ourselves, however small or subtle.

So selfishness isn't always a simple matter.

When God Abandons a Nation

The path of stupid selfishness is trying to avoid all pain. The path of Smart Selfishness is trying to Discern which pain or suffering, particularly emotional suffering, is constructive and which is unconstructive.

Existential suffering is an inherent part of existence and cannot be legitimately avoided - for example, the suffering involved in growing up and learning to be independent; the suffering involved in learning how to become Interdependent and even dependent again; the suffering that is associated with loss and giving up; the suffering of old age and dying. From all these kinds of suffering we have a great deal to learn.

Neurotic suffering, on the other hand, is that emotional suffering which is not an inherent part of existence.

It is unconstructive and unnecessary, and rather than Enhancing our existence it Impedes it.

What we need to do with Neurotic Suffering Is To Get Rid Of It just as quickly as possible because it is like carrying ninety-eight golf clubs around the course when all you need is ten or twelve to play a perfect game.

It is just so much excess baggage.

But, just as it would be stupid to welcome all suffering , so it is stupid to try to avoid all suffering.

One of the basic choices we make in life is whether to follow the path of Smart selfishness or try to avoid all problems and take the path of stupid selfishness. To do so, we must learn how to make this distinction between neurotic and existential suffering.

Problems, depending on their nature, evoke in us many uncomfortable feelings: frustration, grief, sadness, loneliness, guilt, regret, anger, fear, anxiety, anguish, or despair. These feelings are often as painful as any kind of physical suffering.

These feelings are often as painful as any anguish or despair. Indeed, it is because of the pain that events or conflicts engender in us that we call them problems.

Yet, it is in this whole process of meeting and solving problems that life finds it's meaning.

Problems call forth our courage and wisdom; indeed, they create our courage an our wisdom.

Problems are the cutting edge that distinguishes between success and failure.

It is only because of problems that we grow mentally and spiritually.

The alternative - not to meet the demands of life of life's terms - means we will end up losing more often than not.

Most people attempt to skirt problems rather then meet them head on.

We attempt to get out of them rather than suffering through them.

Indeed, the tendency to avoid problems and the emotional suffering inherent in them is the primary basis of all psychological illness.

And since most of us have this tendency to a greater or lesser degree, most of us lack complete mental health.

Those who are most healthy learn not to dread but actually to welcome problems.

Although triumph isn't guaranteed each time we face a problem in life, those who are wise are aware that it is only through the pain of confronting and resolving problems that we grow.
Educational Book Share: The Road Less Traveled and Beyond - Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety.

Practicing The Presence.
We all live our lives in the presence of God. In fact, we cannot not live our lives in the presence of God.

In letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, C.S. Lewis wrote, "We may ignore, but we can nowhere evade, the presence of God. The world is crowded with him. He walks everywhere incognito." Yet we become so preoccupied with the to do list and so overwhelmed by the pace of life that we forget to look for God's sightings in our day.
In her book The God Hunt, Karen Mains suggests that practicing the presence is like going on a "God hunt." It is a way we keep our soul awake to God.

And God can jump out at us at any time at all and say, "Boo, Here I am." The question is - are we paying attention?

The discipline of practicing the presence is often attached to the seventeenth-century French monk Brother Lawrence. He longed to maintain an ongoing conversation with God no matter what he was doing. In the practice of the presence he said: I make it my business to rest in His [Christ's] holy presence which I keep myself in by a habitual, silent, and secret conversation with God. This often causes in me joys and raptures inwardly, and sometimes outwardly, so great that I am forced to use means to moderate them, and prevent their appearance to others.

Practicing the presence is a way of living into a deeper awareness of God's activity in our lives.

Through many small pauses we begin a habit of turning our heart toward God.
Through these acts of attention we express our intention to live in union with Christ. Before we pick up the phone we might say, "Lord I an here. Help me Listen." As concerns cross our desk we might hold up a hand and turn the concern over to God before we move on.

Breath prayer and the Jesus prayer are other ways of staying present to God in the moment.
However, it is important to remember that practicing the presence of Christ is simply a way we love him, and stay connected to him throughout the day.

Reflection Questions.
1. Where do your thoughts go when they aren't focused on work or diverted by amusement?
What do these thoughts reveal about your concerns and priorities?
2. How aware are you of the possibility of meeting God during your work week?
3. What is it like for you when God shows up at an unexpected moment?
4. How easy is it for God to get your attention?
When are you best able to hear God's still, small voice?
What would it look like for you to intentionally seek deeper intimacy with God?

Spiritual Exercises
1. Dedicate some task you are doing to the Lord. Talk to him about the task before you begin again
when your done. * Do not become any more aware of God in the process? How?
2. Offer all of yourself to God for the day ahead. * Throughout the day ask yourself is you are still
living your intentional to be in God's presence. * Do not get discouraged when you stray from
your intention to live in his presence; simply begin again. God loves for you to turn your heart
back to him.
3. When a song comes to mind during the day, pay attention to it. Could this song be a word of God
to you? If it is , tell God what it means to you to have him come near you in this way.
4. Practice the presence in interruptions. The intention to live in the presence of Christ is a way of
saying, "I am Here." Throughout your day - perhaps every time you are interrupted - tell God
"I am here." Remind Yourself that you are in the presence of Jesus, who had time for people who
questioned and interrupted. Remember that some of Jesus' most gracious miracles occurred when
he was interrupted. * What is it like for you to offer yourself to be present to God during
interruptions?
5. Spend some time talking to someone who has lived their life attending to the fixed hours of prayer.
What can you discover from them about living in a rhythm of prayer that draws you into the
presence of Jesus?
6. Decide to stop several times throughout your day to pay attention to God and practice his
presence. Set the clock to remind you. Spend five minutes reading Scripture, praying or just being
with Jesus. * What is this like for you?
7. Develop some prayers that help you to stay awake to God. For instance, find a verse or prayer that
is your waking prayer, your in-the-shower prayer, your dressing prayer, your cooking prayer, your
driving prayer, and so on. Let these prayers lead you into deeper encounters with the God who is
there.
Educational Book Share: Spiritual Disciplines Handbook - Practices That Transform Us.