go against the flow

Psychologist David Lieberman says....

"When your mind has nothing to focus on it divides against itself and creates a breeding ground for worries and anxieties.  Yet, once you get a clearly defined outside goal that you are passionate about these divisions cease.  When you have a clear-cut objective, you're in a better mood and your attention is clear and focused.  Suddenly the "little things" don't seem as important to you anymore.  You have perspective on what really matters. A mind with nothing to occupy it will turn against itself.  When we have nothing to focus our attention on our mind creates its own unrest and fears begin to take root."

We can back this teaching up with scripture....

 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace.

Romans 8:5-6

And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Philippians 4:8

Is your life full of good, interesting, wholesome, passionate things that attract your time and focus?  Sometimes we get stuck in a cycle of doing the same thing, over and over, day in and day out. With no new outside "threat" to this cycle, our minds are denied the stimulation that expands our thinking and gives us new perspective. If you feel like your life is really small, ask God to open it up with new activities, hobbies, work, projects, relationships, etc., that would keep you positively focused and balanced. Our sin nature will always have a downward pull toward negativity.  Like a salmon fighting the current, we can swim upstream into new, exciting waters.  Don't be afraid to go against the flow.  Step outside of your comfort zone. Try something new. Yes, it may take some effort and courage, but the results are far more beneficial than stifling away in a stagnant pond with smelly dead fish.

seasons

Isaac and I were having a conversation in the car. A school bus passed us and he said he wanted to ride the bus.

Me: "You can ride the school bus when you are a little older.  You have to be five years old to ride the bus.  Right now you are too little."

Isaac: "I want to be five!"

Me: "Baby, you are three. You can't be five yet. You have to turn four first."

Isaac: "I don't want to be four!"

As soon as he said that, something inside me responded. Child, I know how that feels! There have been plenty of times in my life when I was in one season and "done" with it, ready to move on, frustrated, tired, wanting change that the next anticipated season would surely hold. I was three, and wanted to be five, but first had to be four!

God has this thing about growth. He is a Master Gardener, you know. He wants us to grow and learn and blossom and bear fruit in the season He has us in, before we move on to the next level in the garden of our lives. He wants us to hang out in the dirt, soaking up the sun and the rain, while our little leaves start to bud. And He is none too keen on checking with us about timetables either.  I gave Him a watch but He won't wear it :) So, as much as we might like our circumstances to be different, God sees the whole picture of where we are and what needs to happen while we are there. He has things for us to learn and experience in this season that will prepare us for the next.

Learning our ABCs in preschool makes it possible to read and write in kindergarden.  A college education won't fly without the skills acquired in high school. We have to tag 1st, 2nd, and 3rd before it counts when we run home. Nine long months have to pass before we get to see that little one moving and squirming around inside. Bus drivers don't let three year olds on until they've turned four and five.

Are you here? In transition? Tired of being three and ready to jump to five? Not really thrilled about having to be four?  I understand. What I've learned during times like these is that it's helpful to accept it. Stop fighting it.  Don't resist the season you are in. God's goodness is everywhere. Grumbling and complaining can hinder our ability to see that. Finding a way to be content where we are really helps to get through a difficult time and I think maybe even speeds up the process.  Sometimes we resist the very things that will bless us. Be teachable. Flexible. Pliable. Welcome the lessons that come in hard times. You will probably need them! The things of God that David learned in the caves and the wilderness while fleeing Saul prepared Him to reign as king when the seasons in his life shifted. Jacob's stone pillow became a memorial and the hard ground where he slept became Bethel, the "house of God", after God spoke to him there in the dirt (Gen 28). It's those treasures that make dark seasons beautiful and add glorious meaning to tough times in our lives. If you feel like you are "stuck", try asking God to show you what He wants you to learn in the place where you are.  Open your heart to His hand. Ask Him to reveal His purpose for that season in your life, so you can yield and cooperate and let Him do His thing.

I like what Paul has to say....

There has never been the slightest doubt in my mind that the God who started this great work in you would keep at it and bring it to a flourishing finish on the very day Christ Jesus appears. Phil 1:6  

I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little.  Phil 4:12

It's like he's saying...."Chill, baby, it's all good." Before you know it, you will be standing there at the bus stop with your little backpack and an apple for the teacher, in all your five year old glory, done with preschool and ready for kindergarden. Which would not have happened...if you hadn't been four. 

Christ is Risen - Matt Maher

"The glory of God....defeated the night!"