James 4:7 (NLT)
So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.
No matter how hard we try to avoid it, situations and people come looking for us. We can busy our minds with our own business, do the work we need to do, and maintain the attitude we need to keep, but regardless of how focused and determined we may be, some issue will inevitably pop up to throw us off course. It might be that family member or co-worker who says something to us that’s so shocking it makes us wonder if we’re living in the Twilight Zone. Maybe we’ve worked hard at something and prepared a typed copy, and just as we’re ready to press submit, it completely disappears. And, of course, if we have a house, car, spouse, or children, the possibilities for something happening each and every day are endless.
The truth of God’s Word says that we have an enemy who’s not interested in our lives going well. In fact, he’s invested in derailing us. The real, and quite simple plan, is to set our minds and emotions off-course, to cause us to doubt God’s faithfulness, and to instill enough doubt to make us feel as though we are unable to live effectively as Christians.
It’s when we’re pushed to the ends of ourselves that our testimony is at risk. So, when a real-live human being is spewing foolishness at us, we have to remember that ‘the Enemy is our enemy’. We may be tempted to respond in a way that wounds just to teach that person a lesson, but God has another plan. He wants us to shift gears, and submit our minds, emotions, and words to Him. He wants us to take the strength of the situation away from the issue and look to Him instead.
When so many things happen at the same time, it may take us a minute to realize that what’s really happening is an attack on our purpose. These are the times when we have to remember that the way we decide to respond to each of these issues matters. Our response always matters to God and, eventually, will also matter to us.
Christ is not just with us in an arbitrary way. He’s with us in the mire of our circumstances. He knows the attacks are coming, has a plan for how we go through it, and has the strength we need to endure it. Even if we lose our tempers, we can collect our emotions, confess our wrong, and push the reset button to change the way we respond to that kind of situation in the future. We can endure trials, work with difficult people, and maintain your testimony and sanity because we don’t have to do it using our own feeble resources.
So, when situations come pouncing, we have choices. We can:
o pray, asking for strength and direction
o keep our mouths shut until we know the right thing to say
o talk to a trusted friend who won’t just join our bandwagon, but will provide a listening ear and/ or wise advice
o read scripture, quotes and/ or books to help maintain the right mindset
o listen to music that helps to shift our thoughts and calm us down
o walk away, go for a walk, run, exercise or do something else we enjoy
o journal about our experiences and feelings
o trust God to give us exactly what we need in that situation
We don’t have to be pulled into foolishness, drawn in by our feelings, or take the bait to react in some uncomely way. We can avoid wearing emotional hot buttons that can be pushed by people and circumstances that are beyond our control. We don’t have to fall for the okey doke! Instead, we can remember that things happen and when those things happen we have help and strength to respond in ways that will build us up and build our testimony. With Christ as our Source, we can be feisty enough to declare, “Nope! Not today!” to every adverse thing that comes our way. Today, we’ll chose to honor Him.
Prayer
Lord, Thank you for being the kind of God who’s prepared for what’s coming our way. Help us to rely on you more quickly than we have before and learn to use our Godly resources to respond to the challenges we face. You are our very real God, who knows that we have a very real Enemy. If we look to you instead of at what appears to be happening to us, we will learn to honor you in every difficulty we face.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Live well,
Michele