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Darkness Of My Own Design
This morning
in class, we talked about those difficulties we face that we,
ourselves, created - about the struggles that we bring upon
ourselves due to our own choices. What happens when we make bad
decisions and then the painful consequences of those decisions come
back and bite us? What have you done that has made life less than
that day at Schlitterbaun or less exciting than diving into the pit
of balls at McDonald’s?
It could be
anything right? You back talked your mom, you chose to cheat, you
got involved in that relationship, you went to that party, you went
into that chat room, you lied to your dad, you didn’t brush your
teeth (eww, what’s that fuzzy green stuff growing in your mouth?),
you decided to drag race, you went to taco bell for that ever
tempting sixth meal and got way too much… Whatever it is, you chose
to do it, and now your feeling the consequences.
So what do you
do now? How do you deal with this darkness? How do you get to the
other end where you’ve heard there’s some light? Below are a few
things to consider if you are interested in getting beyond this
“shadow of death.”
1 – First, you need to
recognize that you created this darkness.
- It does not
help to blame this on someone else. Don’t try to blame your
boyfriend, the jerk that set you off, or your parents – accept your
fault in this situation. Take responsibility for your actions.
Once you take responsibility for your actions, then you are primed
to get past it – but as long as you are blaming someone else, you’re
going to keep playing the victim, then you think – It doesn’t matter
what I do, I can’t be free until that person makes it right. or
It’s their fault, they should fix it!
2 – Next think about what you
can learn from this darkness.
- Open your
mind and your heart to what God might have you learn from this whole
ordeal. God wants to train and teach us to be better people. If we
let Him, he’ll show us things about ourselves through this dark time
that will make us better. Then we’ll be more joyful and he’ll have
an even better witness to the world through your life.
3 – Apply to your life what God
is trying to teach you.
- The
temptation is to try and look for a way out of this mess so that you
can be happy again, right? But you need to stop focusing on getting
out and start focusing on changing the problem area of your life.
My nephew got in trouble for being defiant and was put in time out.
As soon as he got in time out, he wanted out, so he started trying
to worm his way out – first by sneaking, then crying, and then
throwing a tantrum. None of it worked - mommy wanted him to change
the root problem: being disrespectful and defiant. It took him a
while to learn. Sometimes, it takes us a while too.
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Coming Soon
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