Monday, November 17, 2014

Unglued

(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.

Scripture to Claim:
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

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