DON'T GET CAUGHT UP IN THE WHY

Sometimes we get so caught up in why things are happening that it immobilizes us and prevents us from moving forward. Now don’t get me wrong, it’s okay to ask God why, but He may not always answer. If He doesn’t answer, or doesn’t provide the answer we are seeking we must still move forward. When you get caught up in why something has happened you may feel sorry for yourself, have a pity party, walk around with a woe is me mentality. A woe is me mentality can be described as a feeling of distress, sadness, or grief, all of which we know God does not want us to wallow in. As a matter of fact, He wants just the opposite for us. He gives us beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. We don’t always see our way clear while in the midst of a storm, but once we get through the storm we always recognize and acknowledge it is God that has brought us through the storm. It’s my opinion, that when we start thinking we could have done something to prevent something from happening, or we try to fix something that has happened we are being prideful. I’m not saying we shouldn’t take responsibility for our actions. What I am saying is that when we think we could have changed something that was beyond our control we shift our confidence from being in God to being in ourselves. We know we cannot change what has already occurred, so instead we seek God for wisdom. We ask Him to give us guidance and instruction, while at the same time giving us the peace and strength that we need to get through whatever we encounter. We can’t allow others to blame us for things that are not our fault. If you train up your child up in the way in which they should go, and they commit a crime it’s not your fault. If you do everything you can in a situation and things do not go as planned it’s not your fault. Don’t let people goad you into thinking something is your fault when it is not your fault. Once again you are getting caught up in the why. We can either get caught up in “the why” and literally make ourselves sick, with headaches, high blood pressure, knots in our stomachs and restless nights, or we can decide to seek God and His peace, recognizing that what’s done is done and worrying about what has already occurred will not change it. Change the way you think. Instead of thinking about why, think about who. Think about who can bring you comfort, who can bring you strength and who can bring you peace regardless of why. Think about Jesus.