She was sitting beside the Dean’s office when I walked by.
“How are you today?” I didn’t really expect a reply, but she surprised me.
“I’m waiting to see the Dean.”
“That doesn’t sound good. What’s going on?”
She described a fight she started, and described her background of getting into fights.
“I don’t want to keep getting into fights,but I don’t know how to stop. When I’m angry everything I’ve learned at counseling just goes out the window.” Tears welled up in her deep brown eyes. “I want to change, but I don’t know how.”
Oh wow. I can totally relate to that frustration. What about you?
Change is hard, isn’t it? And any time we introduce a habit in our life that falls in the general category of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self-control, you’d better believe there will be a fight.
Those are called fruit of the Spirit because it takes the power of God living inside us to help us replace our natural reactions with these.
Change isn’t easy, but it is worth pursuing.
You know what else is hard to do? Trusting God with what is going on right now, today, in our lives.
It seems easier to trust Him with our salvation than to believe that He acts in our everyday lives as part of that salvation. It seems easier to believe that He died on the cross to pay for our collective sins than to believe that this same act offers forgiveness for the ugly sins that I’m stumbling over today.
The hope that God offers, the hope He created us for, leads us to trust Him, and trusting Him gives us peace and stability in this crazy, broken world.
The hope that God offers is grounded in who He is, which has a direct impact on the way we view God, ourselves, and the world around us.
Fear keeps us in survival mode, but walking in the hope we are created for is life-giving and refreshing. How does that sound? Like a change for the better, right?
Truths to Stand On is a PDF I’ve developed to help you start walking in the hope God offers by describing ways these four characteristics of God can impact the way you live.
- God’s Love *God’s Presence * God’s Provision *God’s Protection
To receive Truths to Stand On, simply fill out the form on the sidebar of this post. If you are already a subscriber, please email me at erinulerich@gmail.com or comment below and I will send you the PDF right away.
And my friend in front of the Dean’s office? With time, a teachable heart, and a stready stream of truth in her life, she could step out of the survival mode she is stuck in and begin walking in the hope she was made for.