Why do we seem to obsess over
hurtful things? Why do negative cycles of the past continue to manifest over
and over in our lives? You have heard the expression "going around the mountain
again." If we continue to make the same choices we always have, we will
continue to obtain the exact same results. It is insanity to think that by
habitually doing the same thing over and over we will receive a different
outcome. A mental stronghold is a wrong pattern of thinking that leads to the
formation of and an agreement with a harmful belief system. When a harmful or
limited belief system is established in our minds we will continually make the
same poor choices. When we receive certain stimulus, data or input from people
we automatically interpret their suggestions in a dark manner by processing it
through the filters of our negative mental strongholds. They are saying one
thing but we hear and understand them to be saying something completely
different. Then in response to their input we push the same buttons and give
them our automatic preprogrammed response.
In order to remove these
negative, habitual patterns, the thoughts of our minds and the way we believe,
must be changed, renewed and replaced with the promises found in the Scripture.
What does the Bible, life's handbook, say about our situation? Ask God for His
wisdom. In prayerfully applying God's good judgment, we will be given spiritual
insight, to make the necessary changes that will break the destructive cycle of
mistakes that causes us to "go around the same mountain" one more time. With a
renewed mind we can then make the necessary shift to obtain a better future, on
a higher spiritual level.
When we focus upon the unpleasant
things we have observed or experienced in the past, we give them the power to
manifest in our lives now. We want to embrace a positive change and move on;
yet the negative things we have endured try to hold us in a destructive thought
pattern. As a person thinks, so is that person. Our mental focus will develop
an image. Although the mind is multifaceted, if we focus on one thing, it is
difficult to make room for or explore other positive options. We become fixated
and limited. As we continue to meditate upon a mental image, our thoughts will
eventually give expression through our actions.
Routine Forms Character
Our daily actions and events form
habits. Routine practices form a person's character. Moral fiber determines the
level of blessing a person can sustain in his or her life. If a person has poor
ethics and principles or lacks integrity, doctrine or true character, a ceiling
is erected that prevents them from achieving their full God-given potential. A
renewing of the mind must take place to build a stronger, broader foundation
and new support structures must be erected for positive changes to spring
forth. (Deuteronomy 25:13-16)
We must stop dragging our past
history of failures into our present, making our existence miserable.
Repentance is a powerful force that will erase all our sin, pain, failures and
regrets. The blood Jesus shed has the power to set us free from the past, propelling
and thrusting us forward into a bright future. Affliction has the power to
bring needed transformation if we possess a teachable heart. Regrettably, the
poor decisions we have made and the wrong actions we have taken produce
negative fruit that cannot be destroyed. We must take frequent personal audits
by removing the pessimistic ANTs (A. automatic, N. negative, T. thoughts) from
feasting on our picnics. The seeds we have sown will lead to results that are
either good or bad. However, our omniscient God is a Great Redeemer, causing
what was intended for our evil to eventually turn out for our good.
Yesterday Produces Tomorrow
Yesterday's prayers, dreams,
actions and decisions produce our tomorrows. Before a positive future can arise
out of the grave of the past, we have to renounce our mistakes and stop
rehearsing the harmful memories. Do not allow them to take center stage. Bury
them and walk away once and for all, never to dig them up again. When the past
wants to resurrect, change your focus to giving thanks for who God is, not just
what He has done in your life. Celebrate the fact that God is the One and only
God, Infinite, Eternal, Incomprehensible, Supreme, Sovereign, Transcendent,
Majestic, All-Present, All-Knowing, All-Powerful, Forgiving, Loving and
Unchanging Savior.
Dreams supply visions that give
us a glimpse of God's image so we can begin to manifest His characteristics.
The things we observe in dreams and the words we hear empower us to create a
new scenario. Once something materializes in real time it cannot be undone; it
is born into reality. Something that was once only maintained as a thought now
exists.
When a dream comes, in order for
it to manifest and be brought out of the spirit realm into reality, write it
down. Faith takes action to bring about a work in progress. Then prayerfully
consider the meaning of the dream. Dreams have different sources God, the soul,
the spirit and the body and the realm of evil also tries to intrude at times.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you determine the source and the interpretation of
the dream. We should never assume we know what each of the images represents.
Always make a diligent inquiry of the Lord, seeking His wisdom and knowledge.
Holy Spirit will give the needed skill and understanding as we continue to
focus upon His beautiful, yet invisible face.
Have you ever done or said
something you regretted? No matter what you did or how many times you repented
the results of your actions still prevailed. How can we undo something that is
already done? Is it possible to redeem a negative situation and make it a
positive one?
God's Nature is to Create
God created the heavens, the
earth and all the living things that dwell therein. The nature of God is to
create. He created both good and evil, darkness and light. He fearfully and
wonderfully created every person who has or will ever live. God created Jacob
the scheming deceiver. Jacob always sought to place himself before others.
Esau, his brother, tried to kill Jacob after Jacob deceived both Esau and their
father in order the gain the birthright of the firstborn son.
God had created Jacob with all of
his short comings and weaknesses, but God did not leave Jacob in the miserable
state in which He found him. God has the ability to create something out of
nothing, and God is also fully able to recreate something wonderful out of
someone who will submit to His plan. Just like Jacob, God created each one of
us, and He loves us too much to leave us in our former or present state of
existence.
Because we are created in God's
image, we are also creators. We are constantly changing, but are the changes
for the better or for the worse? The decisions we make, the actions we take,
the words we speak, and the dreams we have, all help mold us into the person we
are destined to become. If we continue to maintain our present state of
existence and never recreate any other alternative or opportunity for growth,
we grow stagnant, meaning that rather than staying the same, we actually
deteriorate and become stale. We find ourselves in a state of decline as the
result of making no effort.
Isaiah 43:1, Jacob, I the Lord
created you. But I love you too much to leave you the way you are. I the Lord
who formed you will now recreate you as Israel . God says, "Do not be afraid"
the changes will cause you to walk into destiny."(Author's Paraphrase)
Two interesting Hebrew words: Created and
Formed
Created: OT: Strongs1254, HEBREW
bara' (baw-raw'); means to create as a creator; to select or decide to cut
down; to choose to continue to feed as a formative process: to make fat.
Formed: OT: Strongs 3335, HEBREW
yatsar (yaw-tsar'); to form, fashion, frame, make or mold something earthen
through squeezing it into shape especially as a potter molds the clay into a
useful or beautiful vessel; figuratively, to determine to, place purpose into,
(to form a resolution).
Once we have created something
with our thoughts, dreams, words or actions, we must determine its purpose. Is
it acceptable, good, excellent or bad? We must make a decision as to whether we
want to continue feeding the thing we have created so it grows fat and prospers
as it is or should we continue shaping, forming and remolding it to refashion
it into something that has a greater or divine purpose? The things we create
will either help us reach our destiny on time, delay its arrival or totally
preempt it. What kind of a life have you created? God is the giver of life.
What kind of life are you allowing God to create in you?
Caleb, at the ripe old age of
eighty-five, remembered the Lord had promised him the hill country where the
strong, giant-like Anakim lived. He did not allow his advanced age to prevent
God's promise from manifesting. Nor did Caleb allow his current physical
condition to enter into the equation. He claimed that he was as strong at
eighty-five as he had been at forty years of age when he went to spy out the
land that his natural physical strength had not abated. Caleb said, "If the
Lord will be with me, I will take that land like the Lord promised me." He
allowed the creative word of the Lord to strengthen and direct him to conquer
his mountain. It was not Caleb's fault that Israel failed to go forward, but he
suffered the consequences of the bad choices of others and was forced to endure
the misery of delay. Caleb used his pretty daughter Acsah, a blessing that he
"gained" while suffering the postponement of the promise, to his advantage, by
promising her in marriage to the man who attacked and conquered Kiriath Sepher.
When we allow God to bring a
greater measure of maturity to us as we wait on Him, instead of allowing
bitterness or doubt to gain a foothold, the wisdom we gain will sharpen our
spirits in future challenges that stand between us and our promise. When God
blesses us, we have the power to bless others. Othniel defeated that city, so
as promised Acsah married him. Othniel then told Acsah to ask her father Caleb
for some more land. Acsah went to her father Caleb on her donkey. When she
arrived, Caleb asked her, "What do you want?" Acsah replied, "Give me a
blessing. You gave me dry desert land in the Negev . Now, please give me some
land with water on it." So Caleb gave her what she wanted; he gave her the
upper and lower pools of water in that land.
No matter how long we have to
wait or which direction we choose to take, our hope must remain in Christ. He
will draw us out of the natural realms of a desert existence and give us cool
springs of water if we only ask. Holy Spirit places us on the ascending
spiritual staircase of heaven. Although we are still going around now it is on
a rising spiral staircase, so each time we take a step, reach up or make a lap,
we find ourselves in a higher position.
Jacob saw the angels ascending
and descending the heavenly ladder. God has called us to ascend that heavenly
helix of revelation too. Jesus is at the top of the staircase, beckoning us in
our upward spiritual journey. Step by step, rung by rung, we ascend into our
spiritual destiny faith by faith; we go from strength to strength, always
changing from one level of glory to the next. We are transfigured into the
image of Christ as we draw closer to His all exposing light. The more we seek
Christ the more we turn into the light of the Father. We become like the dense
resurrection light that Christ radiated as He came out of the tomb. As we look
on Him, we become like Him.
Barbie Breathitt
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