Have you ever been in a situation
that you could not control? No matter
how much you pray or how much you try to get things to change, you are where
you are and you can’t change it. Don’t
you hate that?
Well you are not alone. So many times we have to outlive the
decisions of others that affects our life.
You can feel hopeless and entrapped by something someone else decided
without your knowing. Maybe adjustments
on your job that included you - now you
are left with less provision to handle everyday needs that are already tight. Maybe
someone did something that hurt and you are left with a broken heart trying
to survive. Whether it is on your job, in your home or even at your local
church; we can all find ourselves having to pick up pieces of our life that we
didn’t drop. There is no magical way to ease
your level of discomfort, but know that there is light at the end of the mess.
Tips to Help Manage the Mess
·
It’s Not
Personal! First, don’t try to figure out who to blame. Sometimes people are trapped
in their own pain and in the midst of it, they try to find a way out. You can
become a scapegoat because of the love you will or have shown. Meaning… you are
a good target. We have all heard a
scenario of someone coming home from work angry and they take it out on the ones
who will forgive them easiest. Love can
make you an easy target! Other times you are just in the midst of a mess. People
can be cruel and decisions can be made without considering how it will affect
all involved, Selfishness is rampant
today, we can get caught up in the tailwind of someone else’s drama. Don’t worry
about blaming anyone, many are afflicted in the same way. This mess is not necessarily personal even if
it feels it is.
·
It’s Working
For You! Romans 8:28… You either
believe it or you don’t. God has
promised to make all of this work together for our good! The first thing I need to know in any trial
is that God Himself is in there with me.
Outside that, I am not sure any of us could survive. Things can get really hard in this life, but
knowing that you are not alone is priceless.
Have you ever really looked at one day in your life to see if you could
have handled it without God? Aside from
the breath that He has so freely given us, I couldn’t make it through Houston
traffic with a sound mind…without Him. I
really don’t want to ever have to figure out life opposite God. He really works all this mess for my good and
His glory.
·
Find the
good! I have a practice that I have
done for over 30 years. Whenever I have
a decision to make I make a list. Pros
and Cons. I literally write down in two
columns the good results and bad results for a key decision I may be
making. Once I finish and I look it
over, I put the list aside and pray and ask God to direct me in my decision. This way, whichever way it goes… I have
counted the cost to the best of my ability and it is actually reassuring to
have some thought as to the pro or con that either decision might bring. This
also works when going through a trial you can’t control. You are already in it, so may as well figure
out any lesson or good that can come out of it. Write what is good that could come
or is coming from it, and what is challenging.
I have found that the good always trumps the challenge. No matter how long the challenge list is, the
good is so much better.
