1Corinthians 10:13-14
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
With the power outage this past weekend (that lasted longer for some us than others)
I found myself feeling...Inconvenienced, which is a really selfish and childish way to feel considering the circumstance I was in. I was just without power, while others were without cars, homes, food so on and so forth. while I was feeling inconvenienced I took a moment to just quiet myself long enough to listen to what the spirit had to say to me. I felt that I needed to reach out to my little sister in Mission which as I understood it was only without hot water. But in actuality was in the same boat as I was in. except she didn't have a mode of transportation to get around with. So I sent her a text and told her I was coming to gather her up and we'd go out and search for someplace that was open and maybe get lucky enough to get a bite to eat.
As I got into my car still feeling sorry for myself ( I can throw quite the pity party when I want too) I began the "extra" long drive to Mission City. What usually takes me 30mins turned into around an hour. And as I drove along the roads I usually drive in awe and wonder at the beauty of all the trees...those very same massive trees had fallen onto people's homes and cars. trees that had been standing for 50-60 years could not withstand the drought we had been in then the brutal winds that taken them down.
I instantly turned my poor me attitude into one of prayers and thanksgiving.
I gave thanks to God for keeping my car that sits under a row of massive trees just like the ones I was now seeing trough peoples homes. I then gave thanks to him for keeping my home safe. And I thanked him for keeping me and my loved ones safe.
I then began to pray for those who had lost so much. I began to give thanks for the very same people I was so pissed at for "NOT GETTING MY POWER UP AND RUNNING IN A TIMELY MANNOR" I was thankful that they were out working as quickly and as hard as they could to restore power to as many people as they possibly could.
I then gave thanks for not having little ones to worry about in such a time as this. And for MY big sister who when she heard about my circumstances told me to pack my bag and head over to her place.
You see the "Temptation I had to fight against" was the temptation to stay in that place of self pity. I had to fight against the "poor me's" I had to stop for a minute regroup and get out from beneath myself, so-to -speak. I needed to step outside of my own personal circumstances and take a drive around my community that had been ravaged by the storm to realize...my circumstances really weren't THAT bad. And like ANY temptation whether it's Drugs, Alcohol, Self Pity, Drama...whatever it is God WILL provide a way out of it. But its up to us to realize or recognize that the way we are dealing with these things isn't quite working for us, so we had better try another way.
Last week I witnessed 3 different people working through their own recovery issues. And every single one of them stated as I just did..."I needed to take a minute to reassess what I'm doing and figure out why it isn't helping me or working for me.
What's going on in your life at this very moment that isn't "quite working for you" what event are you reliving over and over again in your head that is preventing you from moving forward in your life? What is holding you back from surrendering your own will over to God? Perhaps it's just the fear of the unknown. Why not just this once give God the opportunity to do the sorting for you? You never know, it may be the very thing you need in order to move on.
"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."
With the power outage this past weekend (that lasted longer for some us than others)
I found myself feeling...Inconvenienced, which is a really selfish and childish way to feel considering the circumstance I was in. I was just without power, while others were without cars, homes, food so on and so forth. while I was feeling inconvenienced I took a moment to just quiet myself long enough to listen to what the spirit had to say to me. I felt that I needed to reach out to my little sister in Mission which as I understood it was only without hot water. But in actuality was in the same boat as I was in. except she didn't have a mode of transportation to get around with. So I sent her a text and told her I was coming to gather her up and we'd go out and search for someplace that was open and maybe get lucky enough to get a bite to eat.
As I got into my car still feeling sorry for myself ( I can throw quite the pity party when I want too) I began the "extra" long drive to Mission City. What usually takes me 30mins turned into around an hour. And as I drove along the roads I usually drive in awe and wonder at the beauty of all the trees...those very same massive trees had fallen onto people's homes and cars. trees that had been standing for 50-60 years could not withstand the drought we had been in then the brutal winds that taken them down.
I instantly turned my poor me attitude into one of prayers and thanksgiving.
I gave thanks to God for keeping my car that sits under a row of massive trees just like the ones I was now seeing trough peoples homes. I then gave thanks to him for keeping my home safe. And I thanked him for keeping me and my loved ones safe.
I then began to pray for those who had lost so much. I began to give thanks for the very same people I was so pissed at for "NOT GETTING MY POWER UP AND RUNNING IN A TIMELY MANNOR" I was thankful that they were out working as quickly and as hard as they could to restore power to as many people as they possibly could.
I then gave thanks for not having little ones to worry about in such a time as this. And for MY big sister who when she heard about my circumstances told me to pack my bag and head over to her place.
You see the "Temptation I had to fight against" was the temptation to stay in that place of self pity. I had to fight against the "poor me's" I had to stop for a minute regroup and get out from beneath myself, so-to -speak. I needed to step outside of my own personal circumstances and take a drive around my community that had been ravaged by the storm to realize...my circumstances really weren't THAT bad. And like ANY temptation whether it's Drugs, Alcohol, Self Pity, Drama...whatever it is God WILL provide a way out of it. But its up to us to realize or recognize that the way we are dealing with these things isn't quite working for us, so we had better try another way.
Last week I witnessed 3 different people working through their own recovery issues. And every single one of them stated as I just did..."I needed to take a minute to reassess what I'm doing and figure out why it isn't helping me or working for me.
What's going on in your life at this very moment that isn't "quite working for you" what event are you reliving over and over again in your head that is preventing you from moving forward in your life? What is holding you back from surrendering your own will over to God? Perhaps it's just the fear of the unknown. Why not just this once give God the opportunity to do the sorting for you? You never know, it may be the very thing you need in order to move on.
posted by Andrea at 9/08/2015
0 comments
