Life Goes On

Life can often seem complicated. The Apostle Paul mentioned his struggle in Romans 7 where he repeatedly said, "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing." That appears to be a universal struggle among Christians. Time and again we find ourselves wandering from our chosen path of following Christ to following our own base desires. Sometimes it is a chosen action on our part, but more often it is a reaction to some stimulus; either what someone says to/about us or does to us or to someone we care about. In my experience I've found that the best course of action when I'm tempted to do this is to RESPOND rather than REACT. What's the difference? When I react to something or someone, I am not in control. It is like when the Dr. hits your knee with that little hammer. You don't think about it, your body just reacts. By allowing my "knee-jerk" reaction free reign, I'm constantly giving the person or occ...

Any time we're confronted with unexpected, and perhaps unpleasant, circumstances, we have a choice. We can REACT or we can RESPOND. When we react, we're allowing the circumstances to dictate the situation. When we RESPOND we're taking a measured, thoughtful approach which allows us to put a positive spin on the situation. Here's how I've learned to RESPOND. Realize that God is in control, and was not at all surprised with the circumstances. Recognize that possibly, we have contributed to the situation by word, deed, inaction or attitude, and taking responsibility for our part. Look for the positive. What can we learn, or how can we grow from the circumstances? Pray for those who may have knowingly or unknowingly contributed to the negative things that you're experiencing. Look for the open door or window that God provides on the other side of the circumstance. That is where I am at the moment. I'm in the midst of some circumstances that I had not antic...