Struggling Well With Life

I have gone from being irritably faithful to faithfully irritable today.  I need a “come to Jesus” meeting right now, right here.  My circumstances are not looking any different today, but my heart needs to.  I told a friend yesterday that God is present, He does not come and go, but for those of us who are believers - the Holy Spirit is in us, with us - where can I go from His presence?  Nowhwere!  O Lord Jesus, help this preacher to practice what he preaches, I come to you Lord Jesus, here and now, and recognize that in this office with the door shut, and in the complexities of being me - you are here.  May your presence invade this irritability, and redirect my heart.

Have you ever felt irritable beneath the surface? Functioning somewhat well in your role at work and at home, but desperately trying to just keep it together? You know life is way out of control, and you mentally ascent that life has been out of your own personal control for years, but you still find yourself with all those underlying - open ended - untied areas of your life, and the lives of those close to you, that leave you weighed down as you attempt to swim to the surface of it all?  I have.

God, help my friend who is out there trying to make ends meet. He’s working his tail off to provide for his family, and it seems like he can’t catch a break. I know you have come through, and often in the 11th hour. They have never missed a meal, and I pray again for your divine intervention to do for my brother what only you can do. I pray too for the friend at lunch today who is at a critical place in life. He is looking for your leading, desiring to honor and please you. Show him what that is, what that means for him - please. And I pray for my friend who is battling his past, his past that is screaming to be a part of his present. O God, help my brothers, help me - “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit”. Help the brotherhood to keep in step with your Spirit this day, I pray.

OK folks, I have been holding back a bit, not wanting to expose too much too soon, but here is a step toward further disclosure. I really am not a writer, not in the sense that I would enjoy sitting in the mountains contemplating and penning a work for publication. Fact is, I would rather watch TV until my eyes fell out. BUT, If I had to write a book, it would be called “Healthy Denial”, with a forward by brother Crabb. Denial gets a bad rep in psychological and spiritual circles. We are encouraged to deal with our stuff, to address our issues. I am certainly all for dealing with our “stuff” - you can’t live in relationships with people and not deal with your stuff on a daily basis. You can’t live in a house with three women and not be forced to deal with your stuff. I have so many issues, that my issues have issues. So, what is a man to do? Answer - Healthy Denial. We were not wired to handle all the hurts, disappointments, shortfalls, insecurities, and fears that plague a soul every day. Not at once. So what has worked for me, as the Holy Spirit has revealed yet one more area that He desires to refine in me, is to intentionally deal straight up with the first few on the list, and then put the rest on the shelf. Not to be stored for good, but for another day when there is perhaps more clarity, more strength, and more help from on high to move in and wrestle down the next issue. Satan is pretty clever, if he can overwhelm you with all that needs addressed in your life, you just throw up your hands, throw in the towel, and do nothing. Don’t believe the lies. You can be different, you can change, you can discover Jesus smack dab in the middle of your stuff. Tomorrow is a new day, and His mercy and compassion are brand new every day. One day at a time sweet Jesus, one issue at a time too.