Your Base

So...I had another thought today while talking to my husband. We were talking about active waiting (see below) and then we switched to our friends who always seem to be distracted by the negativity going on their lives. Sounds a lot like me. I mean, I go through it, too where I just don't feel happy. I have a friend, though, who is constantly depressed. He has contemplated suicide because he feels so uncomfortable in his own skin. He doesn't like his past, he doesn't like where he is now, either. It's like he wallows in this self-destructive thinking--all the time--and....he's a Christian. He loves Jesus. He is saved. So....why feel this way?

I have another friend struggling with a broken relationship. He described everything wrong with his life. As he talked, I thought of something Mr. Rogers mom used to tell him. When he was a boy, he would get so traumatized by world events. His mom told him to look for the good in the situation. Look for the miracles. Look for the heroes. Look for God in it.

Today was a crappy day at work. A sales person yelled at me in front of my supervisor. I had a $50 billing error. Someone was questioning another billing spreadsheet. I had programs getting ready to print but I didn't have the materials. I barely got a lunch in. I began to be pulled down and started responding to my circumstances with emotion.

And then...on cubicle wall...I saw the promises of God.

In Christ I have…
An acceptance that can never be questioned. Ephesians 1:6
A nearness to God that can never be reversed. Ephesians 2:13
An inheritance that can never be lost. 1 Peter 1:3-5
A righteousness that can never be tarnished. 2 Corinthians 5:21
A grace that can never be limited. 2 Corinthians 12:9
A salvation that can never be canceled. Hebrews 5:9
A joy that need never be diminished. John 15:11
A peace that can never be disturbed. John 14:27

I can't pick my circumstances but I can choose my response. I need to think before I react, too. I could have been sucked down into the mucky self-pity swamp but I got back to my base.

Wrestlers start on their feet. Eventually one of them is in the down position. As he fights for his life (or to stay off his back), the coaches yell "get back to your base!" The wrestler tries to back to that basic position of being on all fours because from that position it is easier to stand up (and your less likly to go to your back).

Get back to your base. Remember God's promises. Remember what Jesus died for--your sin. When we wallow in it all, we sometimes negate what Christ did on the cross. We need to stop trying to pay for something already purchased.

Lots of things to think about during that two hours a day of driving....