STUMBLING BLOCKS or STEPPING STONES
Are you free in Christ, or are
you bound in the chains of resentment against the hurts of a situation or
against another human being? At first
you may answer in the negative. Look
deep inside, for this kind of “cancer” is eating out the heart of many a person
and becoming a weight to Christian growth and chaining that person to
unhappiness and discontentment.
When young, we dream of our mate,
our home, our children, our career. Our
dreams become goals, but very often the reality works out so differently from
those dreams. Facing this reality and
handling the problems that go along with reality can either become a stumbling
block or a stepping stone in the life of a Christian. As a Christian the realization begins to grow
that these goal are earthy – not wrong – but not spiritual. If we rely on Jesus for the goal He set for
us in Matt.6:33, the lack of
achievement in these realms will be lessened.
Sometimes our
Christian life is bogged down by a hurt that we feel someone intended to inflict
upon us. We may either accept or reject
it. Nothing can hurt us unless we allow it to do so, for it is not the
words said but the way we think and feel about it that hurts us. We are free to refuse to be hurt by a spiteful
or malicious word or act. “Least said,
soonest mended” is a good saying to remember.
Use Jam.1:3 as a stepping
stone. Get over it!
The best antidote for resentment
is gratitude. Giving cancels out such
bad feelings. Courtesy, warmth, and
kindness shown and sown will eventually reap the same from whom the hurt has
come. If not, we at least can have a
clear conscience before the Lord. We
must be sure our own conversation is worthy of the gospel. Phil.1:27
At times we are all confronted
with tasks or problems which seem more than we can bear. As Christians we may claim the most wonderful
promises from our God. Ps.37:5
Are we using these problems as stepping stones, or are we taking all
of yesterday’s problems to pile on today’s and then worrying about tomorrow as
well. Matt.6:34 We can take the
many good things of which we cannot be blind, and then praise the Lord for
them. We take the problems of this day
or even of this hour and tackle it with the help of God and do the very best we
can. With faith and trust we do not let
ourselves be overwhelmed with all of the burdens we can remember. Take one day at a time or even one hour at a
time with God’s help and step forward.
Trusting in God will relieve us
of many burdens we cannot handle nor solve.
If we will completely surrender to God’s will, it will cost us our
self-will which really leads us into problems anyway. 2
Pet.1:6; Gal.5:23 This will give us
a new release from many burdens that lead us into emotional turmoil. We sometimes want to run away, but we always
have to take ourselves with us.
Part of our problem in letting go
and detaching ourselves from a problem is learning what we can manage. Some things we can change; some things we
cannot change. Eph.5:21 tells us to submit to one another. We cannot manipulate another person. Each problem must be considered in the light
of “Can I change it or not?” If so, then
accept the challenge if it be within the Lord’s will and do our best with His
help. If not, then detach ourselves from
the problem. This does not mean it will
go away. It simply means we are using it
as a stepping stone. It is an
unmanageable for us. However, we can
always pray Matt.5:44.
Never assume that the other
person is the only problem. It is so
easy to justify our own thoughts and actions.
Matt.5:29,30 Our pride gets hurt, and we bite
back. Gal.5:15 Then in our minds
we tell ourselves we had real reason and the “right” to do so. We must know ourselves. Jam.5:9 Take inventory of your own character, motives,
attitudes, and actions without any justification. Be honest with yourself, for God sees us the
way things really are. Heb.4:13
Then as we find wrongs we have committed, make amends. Jam.5:16 It may not be accepted or returned. This unmanageable and out of our
control. But we have done what we should
and could. Through it all, self-pity or
martyrdom will completely nullify any good we may have done.
We must remain humble before the
Lord, for we know we sin and constantly need His forgiveness, and we constantly
should be willing to forgive others. Matt.6:15
In summary, whatever our problem,
whether it be a person or a situation, the effect on us is whatever we choose
it to be. We can let the problem
overwhelm us and become our stumbling block that weighs down our Christian life
and constricts our spirit and service plus controlling our very being, or we
can use the problem as a stepping stone to greater faith and trust in allowing
God to handle our problems, detaching ourselves from hostilities and
resentments and letting go of them, living just for today with joy and to the
best of our ability in the Lord, and living with serenity and allowing the
peace of God to rule our spirits. Col.3:15
Serenity in the Lord helps
cushion whatever happens on the outside of us.
True peace of mind depends on the condition inside, not outside. Hostilities on the outside do not demand
hostilities on the inside. Will the
problems in our lives be stumbling blocks or stepping stones?
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