Monday, March 13, 2006

Breaking the Strong Holds of the Past

As I was getting dressed this morning--Just kidding!

Seriously, though, I have been thinking about my attitude and image of myself. Some days it's pretty good and other days I feel like I look just like this. It's all in my head, it isn't reality. Some days I feel ugly, ungainly, grumpy and negative. Today IS NOT one of those days, but I want to figure out why those negative days happen. Every morning, I wake up earlier than my spouse so that I can have my private prayer and worship time. I want to start the day with my Heavenly Father. I want to put a positive spin on the day. I list what I have to be thankful for. Usually, one thing that goes wrong can screw up the whole day. But yesterday was different........

I listened to Joyce Meyer's Sunday sermon. She talked about breaking the strongholds of the past. She emphasized the word, "Strong Hold" and said that we don't have to perpetuate negativity. We have to be willing to pay the price to break the bad habit (pattern), by facing the truth, dealing with the root of the problem and taking responsibility with NO excuses. I can make the choice to live for myself or to live for the Lord and serve others. Breaking the strongholds of the past required a conscious decision. I said with her, "I refuse to live like this any longer. The past will NOT control my future."

She reminded us also that when we make a decision for God, that is just the time Satan will come against us, to try to defeat our purpose and set us right back to where we were; to take away hope of change and send us back to our negative ways.

But the Lord was with me yesterday. I felt joy and had a positive attitude. Then, something happened. I was putting the clean dishes away, when one of my favorite coffee cups seemed to just fly out of the cupboard onto the counter and shatter in every direction, sending glass as far as the television in the living room. My standard negative response would have been one of anger and negative behavior, griping and complaining as I cleaned up the mess and depressed and upset all day at losing that cup. It could have ruined my day. But I was able to recognize the incident for what it was--Satan's attempt to take away my joy and resolve to live positively. I cleaned up the mess and said to myself, "It was just a thing" and I went on with my day which turned out quite lovely.

Praise you, Lord for another miracle. I am breaking the Strong Holds of the past, one by one, with Your strength. I get it! It's no longer a mystery why my days were so negative. I praise You for revelations and progress!

2 comments:

Diana said...

Wow, you are having some amazing adventures with our Lord. It's so exciting to read your revelations! I love you! DC

Carol said...

Thank you for your lovely comment at She Lives. I loved this post and look forward to knowing you through your archives.

(Nice photo - interesting pose. [grin])