July 14 - Whole brain experiences
Scripture focus: Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
Betrayal, stress and trauma get the mid-brain all fired up and ready to fight or flee.
In the moment of our deepest misery, our mind goes on autopilot, and our mission becomes survival.
The problem with this plan is that we were not created to merely survive; we were created to thrive.
One of the ways to counteract the stress response system is to stop. Be still. Engage the whole brain -- and remember that God is God, and we are not. Exalt him by giving him his proper place -- reign over you.
It is amazing what a twenty minute timeout can achieve.
When we have been traumatized, it is an unfortunate truth that in our haste to save ourselves, we unwittingly hurt self and/or others.
Our military families are experiencing tremendous collateral damage as husbands and wives, mothers and fathers return home suffering from the effects of long term exposure to stress. Suicide, divorce, and maladaptive coping strategies upon re-entry are rampant.
This is not surprising. But it is survivable. We can get the message of hope out to hurting people. God can and will save us from the effects of living in a harsh world.
Be still. Know that God is God. Exalt him in your moments, so that he can lift you up out of your despair.
Recommended reading: Psalm 84-86
3 comments:
God is God and I am not, nor have I been hired as an assistant.
I do have a question. What is God's Will to you?
god's will for me is for me to invite him in daily, so he can get my attention when i need to rein myself in. you know, "how great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire, and the tongue is a fire." [james 5:5-6] with my tongue i have blessed the lord and father, and with it i have cursed men, who are made in the likeness of god. from my mouth came blessing and cursing. this ought not to be so." [james 5:9-10] today i have grandly succeeded and miserably failed on just that issue. as i turn in tonight i will confess the failures i am aware of [i john 1:9], ask that what i have not yet seen would be revealed, and attempt to prepare for tomorrow by reminding myself to "love my enemies and pray for them [mt. 5:44] and feed my enemy if he is hungry and give him drink if he is thirsty [romans 12:19-21] in that process, maybe i'll have the opportunity to bless someone who is hurting in the process. i do know that tomorrow i will again wildly suceed and miserably fail.
God can and will save us from the effects of living in a harsh world.
god can and is saving me from the effects of living in a harsh world. i have never known such love before coming into the north star hut. god can and will do for our military families as he has done for us. today, i add to my prayer list a wide open door for north star to be able to stem the tide of brokenness by building relationships with military families. c.s. lewis called it 'good infection'. my deferred hope made my heart sick. i have received a heart transplant-a heart of flesh for a heart of stone. i wish to do as i would be done by-to offer my heart to others that need the same transplant.
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