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Not This Time....

by Shannon Heiden  
8/10/2009 / Devotionals

I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all. (Ecclesiastes 9:11 NIV)Time

Beautiful One, does it ever seem like the same people and events surround your life? You've walked through certain things at various times in your life. Even though you overcame, they still pop up every now and again. As if to sway you to go backwards, to derail you from your destination.

As we look back on these places, a sense of pride swells in us. Not for anything we have done, for if God didn't lend us a hand, we never would have made it. Nevertheless, there was always a choice involved on our part. God provided the help, but we had to determine in our hearts that where we were, was not going to be where we stayed.

Beautiful One, life just happens. We plan and prepare the best we can. Our values are molded and guided by our families early on. Some of us were were misguided, even still, life just happens anyway. Life just has a way of interrupting things and wrecking havoc in unexpected places.

Who among us hasn't been disappointed and let down? Who among us hasn't encountered heartache along the way? We all have. Some more than others yes, but in the end we each are responsible for learning, maturing and growing through our adversities. For if we don't, we risk becoming stagnant, stale and bitter as a result of them. This is no easy task. Especially when hardship and heartache have hit your house and you had nothing to do with it.

Sometimes you can walk through a season, where nothing makes sense. Where all of Hell is unleashed upon you. It's even harder when you have no one to talk to. Even if you wanted to tell someone about it, you don't because it is so bizarre and unbelievable that somehow you know others would think that somehow, somewhere this was your doing.

But I am here to tell you that this is not always the case. As human beings we suffer from a condition called "blaming." It's as old as the Garden of Eden. We want someone to be a fault for a situation. We want to know who, and why, so we can make sense out of the circumstance. When we can't put our finger on any particular person or reason, sometimes we fashion one just so we're not left holding a bag of questions

"WHY" seems to haunt us all. And when we can't make rhyme or reason out of something, sometimes we crucify the wrong person just to bring closure. Sometimes, it's not because you were doing something wrong that this happened. It just happened. Sometimes, time and chance happens. Good times and bad.

We must learn that we don't have control over everything. We think that if a spouse of friend betrays us than somehow we didn't do enough, or love enough. Forgetting that they have a free will and their choices affect us. If a child goes off the deep end and makes terrible decisions in their rebellion, why do we think that we have failed miserably, as if they have had no other influences in their life?

One of the hardest things for us to do, is to alleviate ourselves from the throne of control. We can share our wisdom and hope others learn from our mistakes, but ultimately we each have to run our own race and usually, we think we're more special than the next person and that certain things just wouldn't happen to us...

We want our own life and experiences, mistakes included

Beautiful One, sometimes because we didn't get an answer and even if we're satisfied with the result, we need to be careful to keep alert the next time the cycle comes around. Being victorious over a season or issue in your life does not mean that it wont creep up behind you again, through someone else. Last time you were the leading character, maybe this time, your just a cast member.

You may be delivered and strong in the Lord, but that doesn't mean those closest to you are.

This does not mean however that every adversity with others is evil nor being used to destroy you. We need to use the discernment that God gives and discern what the trail is teaching.

We will know fairly quickly where the trial came from, but remember this, "all things work together" for our good. (Romans 8:28 NIV) All things and all people God will use for our good, in the end.

When you encounter the familiar and you know that God has closed that chapter in the story of your life, you need to keep on walking. And with a shout of victory declare;

NO, NOT this time!

Beautiful One, just believe and know that this is your time and there's always another chance!

Shannon Heiden
[email protected]
changingonelifereachingmany.typepad.com

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