W.W.P.G.G
Proverbs 29:11 A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control.
Deuteronomy 31:6 Be determined and confident. Don’t be afraid of anyone or anything. Your God the Lord himself will be with you. He will not fail you or abandon you.
With the last 5 posts I’ve gone over a process that I’ve worked to develop in an effort to more effectively handle adverse situations – a way to rely more on Him and less on me. That process entailed taking a little time when faced with a “mountain” to touch on 5 words
W isdom
W ords
P atience
G uidance
G race
I put this together because the 2 options I’ve used in the past just weren’t getting the best results and I was worn out from the constant strain and emotional drain. It all came about because of a 36-hour period where first I saw that a payment was mistakenly debited twice from my account, leaving me overdrawn and owing more in fees than the original debt, secondly getting a call from a relative whose life was “blowing up” and finally, to top it off, everything I touched I was dropping or breaking!
My first thought was to get mad, curse a bit and maybe raise my voice. I contemplated calling the relative back and telling them this is how the situation is should be handled. Then call the company back who ran debit through twice, likely using an angry tone and demanding satisfaction and reimbursement for the overdraft fees.
The other option was to withdraw, and hide from everything. I could assume that the family member would resolve their issues without my input. I could hope that the company would reimburse me for the accidental charge and all the fees associated with it – surely they would discover their mistake. And by withdrawing, I would not have contact with as many people and therefore could stop my path of destruction.
Like I said, these options just didn’t seem right. The first (getting mad) gets you nowhere quickly! When I would choose that option, I’d have expended so much energy that there was no joy to celebrate the success. In addition, I’d have created chaos in the lives of at least 2 more people and with that, the enemy has won.
The second option resolves absolutely nothing; in fact it actually winds up making things much worse. As things combine and compile, the little issue becomes a mountain, and when I’d look to climb that mountain, I would be overwhelmed with its size!
With that, I decided to do something different, I looked skyward and asked our Father for His help. My request wasn’t concise, and I’m sure it didn’t come close to covering the situations I was facing, but what it did do was allow me time to calm down. It also allowed me to move it from my hands to His. Knowing that my Father was with me and knowing that He was there to guide me through each of these situations brought me peace and energy. I had the strength through Him to celebrate overcoming each situation. I also had the joy to praise Him for His help and His grace.
I continue to struggle with this daily, sometimes minute to minute, but I always remember, no matter what the situation, God is near and will guide me through the obstacles of life. The next time you’re facing a hurdle, stop and ask Him to be with you – give WWPGG a try.