June 2
Scripture focus: So, my friends, this is something like what has taken place with you. When Christ died he took that entire rule-dominated way of life down with him and left it in the tomb, leaving you free to "marry" a resurrection life and bear "offspring" of faith for God. For as long as we lived that old way of life, doing whatever we felt we could get away with, sin was calling most of the shots as the old law code hemmed us in. And this made us all the more rebellious. In the end, all we had to show for it was miscarriages and stillbirths. But now that we're no longer shackled to that domineering mate of sin, and out from under all those oppressive regulations and fine print, we're free to live a new life in the freedom of God. Romans 7:4-6 The Message
Denial is a strategy that our mind (mid-brain) employees in an attempt to allow sin to call most of the shots in our life.
What is denial? It is the process whereby the conscious mind studiously ignores or rejects any clues that something is wrong.
When we live in denial we...
* Do not recognize that a problem exists (even though others think differently).
* Do not want to think about the possibility of a problem existing.
* Do not see any reason to listen, consider, or think about the possibility that a problem might exist.
This costs us a lot of energy; it’s emotionally, psychologically and spiritually expensive to live in the land of denial. Think of it like this. Living in the land of denial is like buying a piece of property in a slum for a fee that is charged for the most exclusive, expensive, prime piece of real estate in the world...and then, trying to convince yourself that you got a good deal.
Can you imagine how uncomfortable you would feel if you bought a house thinking you were going to live on the same street as Jennifer Aniston and Denzel Washington, only to discover that your house was right smack between a crack house and a brothel?
Could you live restfully with yourself after making a deal like that?
To be continued...
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2 comments:
I had a direct experience the other day that allowed God to show me the strong presence of denial in my life.
A few months ago I had a temper tantrum and sliced my thumb open with a garden hose attachment (if this sounds like powerlessness and insanity to you, you're not wrong).
At the very moment and for a few fleeting moments after the laceration occurred, I kept hearing myself say, "I did not just do that. This is not happening."
But what was painfully clear (literally) was that I was paying the consequence for a bad decision on my part. God tugged me back a few steps from my denial and whispered, "Hey. This really did happen. No time machine for you to hop into. What can you do now to take care of yourself?"
So I held my thumb together, walked into the house and asked my wife to drive me to the emergency room.
I am still paying some minor consequences for my actions but I see grace upon grace for the comparatively minimal damage (it could just as easily have been my eye) and for the opportunity to learn, see myself exactly as I am, accept my situation and take the next right step even though the last step I took wasn't so right (it was sooo wrong).
I, too, was in denial about a poor decision I had made although it seemed right at the time (don't they all?) During the entire time, I kept having nagging doubts that the decision was the correct one for me, but I pushed them away. This episode was not the first time I've not listened to the clues. Now, I am paying for it....again. Eventually, I hope to learn to slow down, block out all other voices but Holy Spirit's and take the appropriate action. This is what growing up is all about for me.
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