As a pastor I'm convinced I've learned more from spending time with others than they have learned from spending time with me. When a person would come to me for spiritual direction they only experienced meeting or hearing from one person. As a counselor I had the advantage of meeting with many through the years that would share much the same experiences. So I would hear the same basic story or circumstances many times. That also meant I experienced watching as different people responded and sometimes reacted to similar situations or circumstances in very different ways. It was amazing to see the outcomes of giving the same Biblical advice to people who acted on it differently.
How we respond to situations or problems determines our future quality of life. I often say to congregations while I am teaching, "every person in this room is where you are today based on decisions you have made in the past, both good and bad." It is astounding how people will take a long time to research and process before making a purchase. Yet, that same person might rush into life altering decisions like a marriage mate. I've known people who have met people online and married them much too quickly. Unfortunately, these decisions often end in pain and chaos. The truth is very clear that we all come to moments that are "Make or Break" decision times. We have all had good experiences based on good decisions and we have all had some that we wish we could have a "do over." Unfortunately, we can't have do overs in life. Decisions are almost always one time events. So, what happens with those decisions that yielded bad situations? Honestly, even good decisions don't guarantee that we will always like the outcomes. Life is messy!
Now we come to my main thought today. Why do some come through a difficult or even life altering situation and move forward in joy and are the better for it? Others seem to stumble and eventually right the ship, some are changed for the worse and never seem to get past it. Some people outgrow some things, some don't survive some things and some mature through things.What makes the difference?When we consider the options here we should all set our sights on the maturing option. That is definitely what God wants for us. The Scripture is filled with examples of folks walking right through hardship to become better and not bitter. Again, here is a choice. Will we seek vengeance and retribution or will we seek God and his healing for our inner man. As long as we have our hands on a situation through self effort motivated by a desire for self justification, the Lord can't get his hands on it. He waits on our releasing a thing and truly turning it over to Him. You aren't facing anything today that many others haven't already faced. The question is, what direction will you take? I encourage you to pause right now, pray and turn your situation over to the Lord. Release it and let it go down the stream of forgiveness and healing.
