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Life Lessons When My Way Doesn't Jive with God's Way

by Elizabeth Marks  
1/18/2007 / Christian Living

The other day I had a particularly difficult morning. I was torn between doing what I wanted and what I had to do. Yet, the way my mind was working, it was trying to convince me the Lord really wanted me to do what I wanted, yet my circumstance made that impossible. Therefore, I had much mental conflict. By sharing my struggle and the lessons I learned, I'm hoping you might be encouraged and learn how you might cope when faced with your own difficult situations.

Background: I am a wife and mother of two, who works full-time outside the home. My desire is one day to stay home with my children. At this point, that's not an option for us. But I have hope it will one day occur, all in God's timing. (I am well aware of the scriptures that suggest the woman should stay home to raise the children, I agree. However, God has made it perfectly clear I am to continue to work for now. He has a purpose I must fulfill in the workplace.)

Situation: My two year old son was recovering from the stomach flu, but he wasn't 100% better yet maybe 80%. He was well enough to go to the sitters. On the work front, I was to teach a class this particular day and the backup instructor was out of town. I found myself between a rock and a hard place.

Emotional struggle: I wanted to be with my son, but I had to go to work. Even though I knew he would safe, comfortable and in a loving environment with his sitter, I was resentful that I had to leave him. My emotions ran high that morning. Thoughts such as "It's not fair", "I want to be there for my son", "I don't want to go to work", "I should be the one to raise my child", "I shouldn't have to work", "My husband should be the provider", "This is too much pressure", "I can't handle this conflict", "This is too much responsibility" and "Lord, why can't I just stay home?" were playing non stop in my mind, causing my emotions to spill all over the place. All of this occurred just 15 minutes before my class was supposed to start!

Right there in that messy moment of life I had a choice to make. I could have chosen to stew in resentment and blame my husband for my unhappiness, but I've lived there before and definitely don't want to go back. The other choice was to follow God's Word. Funny how the mind works, mine naturally went to where it had gone countless times before. Instead of letting my emotions choose for me, I decided to choose God and had to quite literally round up my thoughts and make them obedient to Christ.

How did I do it?

I brought my thoughts into obedience to Christ by reciting God's Word to myself. I spoke things like "God has everything under control." "I am not ruled by my emotions, but I am ruled by Christ." "I myself no longer live, but Christ lives in me." "Think on the things that are lovely, pure, true, faithful, praise worthy, just and noble." "Choose the Lord's will, not mine will". "Put on the whole armor of God so you can resist the devil." "Get behind me Satan, for you think only of things of this world." "Submit to the Lord, resist the devil and he will flee from you". "You are not tempted beyond what you can handle. God will make a way out." This whole time while speaking these verses and sayings was like prayer to my Lord for help and He faithfully answered me. He brought my emotions under control and calmed my spirit. He gave me the focus I needed to teach the class.

What lessons did I learn from this?

First, no matter how intense the emotions are at the time they won't last long. The whole ordeal I shared above lasted only about an hour. If we are patient during emotional times, when things calm down we will be able to think more clearly. So give yourself time to cool off.

Second, God's Word chases away evil influences over your mind. The more of God's Word you remember, the better armed you are when the battle gets tough. Our enemy can't stand God's Word. He flees from it. Satan knows he can't touch us because we are Christ's and nothing can separate us from God's love for us. But God's Word will only help you if you use it. Knowing it doesn't help, it's in exercising what you know that you'll find the power to overcome your enemy.

Third, ask for help. Don't be proud and think you can handle it on your own. We all need help at some point. It's okay to ask. When I got to work that day, I saw one of my Christian co-workers and quickly explained what was going on and asked for prayer. Remember, God made us better together. He wants His children to work together to build up the body of Christ. Let others pray for you. It strengthens their faith and yours.

Fourth, God's way is the best way. It's not just a way, it's the ultimate way. It's the path that leads to an abundant life. If we choose to follow God's way, I'm not saying life will be easy, for Jesus told us things would be difficult. However, applying God's way in our life means learning how to handle the things of this life loosely for it's all going to fade away anyway. It means focusing on the eternal things that will last forever instead.

So there you have it, a real world example of what goes on inside the mind during a conflict. Perhaps you could relate to some of the thoughts I shared. I hope you found encouragement in how God's word struck down the tactics of the enemy. May this encourage you to rely on God and His Word the next time you're faced with a similar conflict. In case you were wondering, my son is healthy and life is back to normal again.

Lord, thank you for the trials of life that show us your saving grace and power. Thank you for guiding us through the difficult patches in life. Help us choose Your will over our own that we may find the abundant life You have for us. In Jesus' name Amen.

Copyright Elizabeth Marks, author of ThinkOnIt Devotions, has a heart for encouraging believers with God's Word. Please visit http://www.ThinkOnItDevotions.com for more devotions, bible studies, book reviews and more!

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