What's my Pattern?

Negative patterns are predictable, continual, and nearly impossible to break.

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

Are you exactly where God wants you?

If I know I am where I need to be then I am a thousand percent more effective. Do you know you are where God wants you today? If so, I encourage you to do it with everything you've got. Why would we waste God's direction and timing?

If you do not feel that you are exactly where God wants you, then you probably need to decide from whence comes the discontentment. God is not the author of confusion. Not knowing where the discontentment comes from often will keep us from being effective in other areas that have nothing to do with our source of unhappiness. It is like a debilitating tiredness. It will keep us lethargic in nearly all areas until we identify the source.

God seems to take glee in those who make the best of their circumstances. For some reason, he tests and tries his children. Take Joseph for example. He was thrown in a well by his own brothers and then sold as a slave and then falsely imprisoned. Crazy thing is, his story is remembered as a great success story that an almighty God left for us. Of course we will have dark and uncertain times; we most certainly will have victory as well.

Our prosperity, or lack thereof, has nothing to do with other people. God has full control of this.

Our peace, or lack thereof, has nothing to do with people. God controls this.

Our happiness, joy, contentment, fulfillment, and disposition all have nothing to do with people.

The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:11 "...for I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances."

Relax. God has this.

Do you have God? Do you know God? You may have heard of another scripture in Philippians that Paul states ..."that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection..." Great scripture, right? Read on: "...and the fellowship of his sufferings, being like Him in his death." Wow, pretty serious, I like the first half better!

God is looking for, and developing, men and women who will do his will without complaint. This is not possible without spending a considerable amount of time with Him. Remember the bumper sticker "know God know peace. No God, no peace"?

We need to spend some time on the phrase "know God", because God is often getting the blame for stuff about which He was not even consulted. Something in me this morning wants to say Wake Up! It is time for many of us to quit being soft and lost in our past hurts and failures. Move on. Many of us have the knowledge and grace already - but we are still discontent.

I am reminded of king David in the Psalms. In some he is crying out to God in great anguish and pain. He talks about the crushing blows of life and that his enemies are closing in on him and that he is afraid.

King david afraid.

Then I read in another psalm later on about his overwhelming joy and praise for that great God that has delivered him from his fears and his enemies. Sound familiar? Hopefully it does or it will.

Are you exactly where God wants you? Do you spend considerable time with Him? Is it possible to know anyone with whom you spend little time?

What will we trade for what we want right now?

This quote from Zig Ziglar made me really pause and take note:

The primary reason for frustration and failure in life is that we trade what we want most for what we want now. 

Common Traits of A Person Struggling with Addiction

It doesn't really matter what the addiction is. We can veg out on pretty much anything....these are often many of the symptoms:

1. Profound narcissism. They are often self-centered and self-absorbed.

2. Extreme grandiosity. Mostly image – addicts "front strength", but are actually weak with low self-esteem.

3. Manipulation and lying. Con games, lying.

4. Impulsiveness. Like lightning they move from impulse to action, bypassing the weighing of possible consequences to self or others.

5. Extreme risk taking. 

6. Externalizing of blame. It's always someone else's fault, never there own.

7. Isolation. They retreat into a world filled with secrets, shame and guilt.

8. Passivity. At times, they collapse into inaction, awaiting the rescue by others.

 

Sound like anyone you know? 

keith winstead // director of celebrate recovery & worship arts
tel 910.454.9302 // fax 910.363.4097 // mobile 910.269.6738 // email // twitter // blog // www