(Some material adapted
from Unglued by Lysa Terkeurst)
May the
words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O
Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Psalms
19:14, NIV
I have recently gone through the Bible study, Unglued, by Lysa Terkeurst.
It is an excellent Bible study on our emotions and how we can remain in
control (or at least make an effort) in those situations where we “come
unglued.” This week I am going to highlight
some of the strategies from the study, just in time for the holidays, when the
possibility of unglued moments might be heightened!
Whose Side are you On?
Often when we are in a difficult situation or relationship, or we are
going to have to spend time with a friend or relative that we know is going to
aggravate us, we feel like we are facing an impossible situation. Joshua was facing an impossible situation
when he went to fight the battle of Jericho
“Now when Joshua was
near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn
sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him
and asked, “Are you for us or for our enemies?”
Neither the man replied.” Joshua
5:13-14a.
Bible scholars believe
that the man Joshua was talking to was the presence of God. What a shock!
I would have thought that God would surely answer “Joshua, of course I am for you!”
But that is not what He said. Joshua
asked what side the man was on when the real question was for Joshua to decide what side he was on. See, Joshua needed to decide that he was for
God. Then he had the courage to face the
impossible challenge standing before him.
We have to settle this question as well.
In our unglued situations, we have to decide if we are going to be on
God’s side or not. When we choose God’s
side, we find courage to face unglued situations in a new way.
Three ways to remain on God’s side:
1. Use Truth – Saturate yourself in God’s
word in regard to the situation you are facing.
Be mindful of your thoughts and words.
Make sure you stay on God’s side in your thoughts and with your words so
you don’t give Satan any fuel. You can
be truthful without being hurtful.
2. Use Self-control – You cannot control
someone else’s actions or reactions but you can control your actions and
reactions. We can‘t always fix our
circumstances but we can fix our minds on God.
If we decide we are on God’s side, it settles the trust issue. If we really believe and trust God, we can
face situation that are out of our control without losing self-control.
3. Use Prayer - Pray for them. Pray for their good qualities. Pray and thank God for putting them in your
life and for this situation because there is some purpose in all of it. No matter how hard, it is a divine
appointment. God will use it for good in some way. It is hard to be angry when you pray with a
grateful heart.
Grace for the Unglued
We are human and it is not easy to remain in control in some of life’s
most unglued moments. It is not about
expecting perfection immediately – or ever!
It is all about imperfect progress.
Progress is progress. It’s about making small changes that help us reach
our goal of choosing constructive
thoughts rather than destructive thoughts, or seeking a new perspective on
things instead of wallowing in problems.
It is learning how to acknowledge our feelings in a positive way instead
of stuffing them away and ignoring them – until they have to come out and
sometimes in an unpleasant way. It is
grace for the unglued, grace for ourselves so we can accept the progress we
make, even though it may seem small. God
loves us right where we are, unglued and all.
He loves us enough to not want us to be stuck. Commit to a starting place and goal to work
for – a new normal of making wise choices in the midst of raw emotions.
God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that He won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns. Philippians 1:6
