Freedom Proclamation

One of the greatest challenges in life is facing the consequences of our mistakes. To avoid dealing with the emotional devastation of confronting our problems, we go to extremes. We build walls and enact ritual self abuse time and again to sidestep the work and pain of grieving. It’s easier to live in denial. All of us can see the results of maladaptive coping mechanisms in others, but have more difficulty recognizing them in ourselves. We can see enough to assess blame for difficulties, but assign it to others, not to ourselves. We become isolated inside our thought patterns and keep repeating defeatist thinking. Without help, the misery can become unbearable. Thus the saying, “Most people live lives of quiet desperation.”

Try approaching problems from a different angle. Failure can be thought of as a good thing: It is simply part of the learning process. Find out what works and discard what doesn’t. Live in reality instead of fantasy. One way to progress in faith and learn more of how God works in our lives is to keep a prayer journal. It is used to keep track of the requests that we put in His keeping, and later can be reviewed to record God’s answers! A person keeping this type of journal will not have to cover the same ground time after time, but will see that God always answers prayer. The journal will then become a journal of praise also!

Another snare busting approach is to listen to Jesus’ advice. “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Matt. 18:3. Being childlike can be applied to our lives in the following way. A child knows nothing of what can or cannot be accomplished. He brings no preconceived ideas of the way things work to his efforts. He has no defense mechanisms with which to avoid reality, no prepackaged issues to color his perceptions. (He sees through mauve colored glasses.) He feels he can complete whatever he starts out to do because he has no experiences to tell him that he cannot. Defeatist attitudes have not yet developed and hardened into procedure. He just wants to see what will happen. He knows that he will not LEARN if he does not DO. In faith, begin again like there is a clean slate. We are free in Christ. All things become blessing when redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Our final destination, heaven, works backwards.