We had the coolest dog years ago, his name was Barkley; the smartest dog we've ever had. He developed a negative pattern though. Something must have happened to him that was weather related. Maybe a lightning strike nearby him or a major wind caught him unaware.
You guessed it, every time the weather even looked like it was going to storm, he would freak out. I mean seriously freak out. Like jump through our house windows to get inside which would cut him every time. I guess he figured that the new wound was better than his fear of what could be in the storm. He dismantled a STEEL door by peeling off the outer skin and went
through the door.He got all cut up on that one too as well as the collateral damage. Man I wish I had a camera-phone back then because the site was incredible.
People, many people, have these same destructive patterns. A big storm or two happened, and now every time we see a storm brewing, we can start to lose faith.
It gets worse.
My dog Barkley kept getting worse. He started freaking out even on sunny days. We finally took him to a doggy shrink (don't laugh, he was a family pet!) But what we learned was a life lesson for me. (I did not know it at the time)
Let's say on the day of the storm, before the storm came, a yellow school bus drove by. Then the UPS man came and delivered a package. In Barkley's mind these things were part of a much larger conspiracy to put him in the middle of a treacherous storm all alone.
Bam!
I speak with humans everyday with the exact same tendency. The pattern is identical. They are constantly looking for "the rug to get jerked out from under them". So we start seeing school buses and UPS trucks and we are immediately in our pattern of fear. Regardless of the weather! This is fear at it's most abominable level.
Object lesson: The world is NOT out to get you. The conspiracy to make your life a living hell does not exist.
Application: Give the new people in your life a chance. They are not the buses and trucks from your past. Step into healing and embrace victory over fear. OR - Get new people because your stuck with dysfunction!
Isaiah 26:3 You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you
