"I Got This!"

Recently, I found myself in conversation with two people very dear to me, and they were frustrated! They could not understand how their lives had ended up in the mess it was presently in. They could not figure out how they had arrived at such a lonely, crazy, and scary place and how to get out of it. I can relate because I myself am at a crux in my life, which is the result of bad decisions in a few different areas over time. However, I’m sick and tired of where I am, and I am not allowing myself the “free-pass” to misery I normally give myself. My God deserves better from His child, my husband and children deserve better from me, and everyone else I love and care about who also depend on me also deserves better.  As I was sharing with my loved ones recently, the answer is quite simple and it involves growth and control. As we each live life, every individual has the opportunity to grow or remain stagnant. I believe our growth process is a continual one, which is used by God to perfect our character in Him. I also believe this process is different for everyone. Sometimes people see abrupt changes or interruptions; sometimes it happens over a long period of time. There are times that individuals may be “stuck” at a particular step in the growth process because they say to themselves and everyone else, “I got this”, and they don’t do what is necessary to move on to victory. This was my problem for a very longtime, I used to say to others “I got this”, but the truth is I didn’t. The 4 steps are as follows:

1.       Lose control (sin-disobedience, unforgiving, insecurity, etc.)

2.       Out of control (recognizing chaos, frustrated because unsure of what to do)

3.       Surrender control (confession ,repentance, trust, and patience)

4.       Under control (joy, peace, and freedom from God’s deliverance)

This is demonstrated in the book of Jonah. The 4 step process Jonah endured I have seen at work in my life and the lives of those around me. The breakdown looks like this:

1.     Losing control-(Jonah 1:4-9)-Jonah had clear instruction from the Lord to go to the city of Nineveh and deliver a message on the Lord’s behalf encouraging repentance. Jonah deliberately disobeyed the Lord and decided to flee to Tarshish which was in the opposite direction of where the Lord told him to go. Disobedience to the Lord is what caused Jonah to lose control. This was manifested as a raging storm, and it threatened his life and the lives of those around him.

       Reflection: How has disobedience at times in my life affected those around me?

2.     Out of control- (Jonah 1:10-16)-The ship that Jonah was aboard was being tossed by the dangerous storm. Once the other passengers knew what Jonah had done after he admitted his sin, they asked Jonah what they should do with him. Jonah told them to toss him overboard. The men did not listen initially and continued Jonah’s disobedience and tried to outrun the storm, yet the storm did not relent and it worsened. The men had to admit something that Jonah had already realized; their life was presently out of control. Jonah had to admit his wrongdoing and deal with the consequences. The men had to throw Jonah overboard and asked the Lord not to hold them responsible for what they supposed would be Jonah’s death. After they did this the storm ceased.

       Reflection: I’ve been stuck at this step for a long time because I thought it was my lot in life to stay here. I also have tried to manipulate God with my emotions during this phase to provoke Him to move. It didn’t work.

3.     Surrender control-(Jonah1:17, 2:1-9) The Lord had already prepared a fish to swallow Jonah and Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for 3 days and 3 nights.  Jonah did something while in the fish’s belly, he prayed. In his prayer he acknowledged who God was, His position in Jonah’s life, and he willingly surrendered all control to God.

       Reflection: Once I reflected on who God is, what He has done in my life, and His power and might my my perspective changed (internal chaos has ceased). This is where I currently am with several issues in my life as I continue to wait on God’s timing for my situation to change. This is very difficult to do, to hope and not see any changes; it’s a test of my faith.

4.     Under control-(Jonah2:10) After Jonah prayed and truly surrendered to the Lord, something happened. The Lord commanded the fish to vomit Jonah onto dry land. Once Jonah reflected on the Lord’s goodness, power, and majesty he was able to see himself and this allowed him to willingly surrender to the Lord. At this, the Lord made a paradigm shift in Jonah’s life and now Jonah could enjoy the safety and security of being submitted under the one who controls all, God himself. Throughout the book of Jonah he still had struggles but he did what the Lord commanded him to do, and the people of Nineveh benefited from that.  

       Reflection: I learned from Jonah that I may not necessarily like what God is asking me to do, but my obedience and trust in God could affect more people than I realize, such as with the people of Nineveh. Jonah’s obedience literally saved their lives. There is no denying the peace I experience in my life when it is under control because I allow God to be in charge of it! God bless you.

Needed An Update!

Recently my cell phone prompted me several times to update it with the latest software available. If this was done, it would allow my phone to work at a much higher efficiency. My husband and I have the same type of phone. He completed his update and he asked me if I had completed mine.  I told him I did not because my phone did not have sufficient memory to complete the update. I convinced myself that it was not a big deal because my phone operated just fine in its present state. My husband kept insisting that I update my phone because if the update was available, there was a reason for it. I told him not to worry about it because I would deal with it later. The truth was I did not want to deal with it all. After further conversation he convinced me to allow him to take care of updating my phone for me. In order to do that, he had to create more available memory by deleting unnecessary items that were using up space on my phone.  However, the next time I tried to use my phone I noticed all my contacts were gone. WHAT? I don’t memorize anyone’s phone # anymore that’s what my phone is for. I haven’t created an emergency back-up for my contact list because I don’t have time. I was frustrated because all of this was for an update that I didn’t think was important in the first place! After discussing my lost contact situation with my husband, he told me that he didn’t delete the contacts he just turned off a particular setting. After he told me how to retrieve them my phone was ready to receive the new update.

In Luke 13:10-13 a woman allowed a spirit to cripple her and because she was in this condition for so long (18 years), she could not straighten up. It wasn’t until Jesus spoke and changed her situation that she was set free.  Initially, when I tried to update my phone I was unable to because I did not have the memory to do so. I had so much “junk” on my phone that it prevented it from receiving something that was needed. It was not until my husband cleared the items from my phone that it could receive the update. This woman had a spirit that crippled her for 18 years. Can you imagine what that did to her life?

I think of my own life and how I have allowed things to hold me back, slow me down, or completely cripple me for a number of reasons. It makes me wonder how many blessings I’ve missed out on simply because I did not have the memory or the available head and heart space for it. I have noticed the benefits of my phone’s latest update, including more applications available and overall functionality. The purpose of an update is to eradicate old information and replace it with new and improved information. 

 Let’s allow the Lord to show us what needs to be deleted out of our lives, so that we can prepare for our next update. Whether we are completely crippled in an area or just used to our lives and situations, the Word of God offers continual updates for us and it is available because it is needed! Our healing takes place when we allow God to eradicate the old "junk" in our lives and we allow Him to replace it with truth which He promises from His Word. God bless you.