Everyday Step with Jesus

When a situation upsets you, where do you tend to look? Maybe the situation, those around you, God, or yourself? I have found that it can be very easy to put the blame on those around us or the situation itself. However, when we do this (and I say “we” because I do this myself) we are not getting to the root of the problem. There are situations in which we have no control, but there are others in which we play a role in. We can play a role in a situation we are going through by our attitude, actions, the way we respond, or even in our way of thinking. I have found that when I get really upset about a situation, oftentimes it is not really what the other person said or did, but rather how I was already feeling and what was going on within me. If you have found yourself upset about your current situation or those around you, if you have found yourself blaming others for your current situation, or if you just feel like everything bothers you/makes you unhappy, keep on reading…

I remember that when I first came to Christ, I thought I was a “good” person. I would hear many powerful testimonies, such as how God changed someones life dramatically from drug abuse, restoration from child abuse, physical healing and many other great testimonies. I didn’t have any addictions, I didn’t go through a traumatic childhood of abuse, I led a pretty normal life I would say. Since I didn’t have any of these “outside” problems I thought I was fine when I first came to Christ. All I knew at the time was that I fell in love with the Lord and His beautiful presence. As I began to seek out the Lord, He slowly started showing me the many areas in my life that needed to be renewed. One of the main areas in my life that needed renewing was my way of thinking, my mind. Unlike other issues that people face, mine wasn’t evident to me and actually seemed normal. However, as I began to know more of God’s word, I discovered that my way of thinking didn’t align to His Word and it was showing in my walk in Christ. 

In the beginning of my walk, I battled a lot with my mind. I was unsure of a lot of things, double minded, hard on myself, not just in my walk with Christ but with everything in life. I was often unhappy and thought that those around me were a problem and that the situation itself was THE problem. Now I realize that it wasn’t so much what those around me did or the situation that I was going through, but rather that something that was bothering me within was being triggered. Meaning that I needed to look within myself and identify why the situation bothered me so much. Usually when situations make us upset it is because something we don’t like has occurred. I am referring to those things with roots, those things that shouldn’t be in our hearts. Roots, such as, rejection, fear, low self-esteem, insecurities, being a perfectionist, always wanting to be right, pride, a lying tongue, doubt, disbelief, lack of trust…the list can go on and on.

When we go through a situation that bothers us or upsets us it can become an opportunity for growth to look within and identify the root problem. I am not saying that everything that upsets us is a reflection of rooted things within, but rather an opportunity for us to ask the Lord to search our hearts and minds and see if there are any roots we need to deal with. This will also help us to realize that others around us are not always the problem. 

David said it very well when he cried out to the Lord and said, 

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; And see if there is any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalms 139:23-24 NKJV) 

As individuals we know where we stand and we know our dislikes, but we need to go a little further than that. We need to allow the Lord to search and find the real cause of our dislikes. Many of the roots that we have can be tied to our childhood, past experiences, or passed down from generations. A root is deep within and sometimes it can take years to flourish, this can be said for both a good and bad root. Even though it is not manifested right away, if we keep on watering the root it will show its fruit little by little until it has fully flourished. The roots that don’t belong in our hearts are watered and grow each time we go through a situation that triggers us. For example, if one is a perfectionist, each time that person makes a mistake or things don’t come out the way they expected, that root will continue to grow and become more deeply rooted within the person’s heart. This will affect how the person goes about their life and the way they react when things don’t turn out how they expected. 

Once we are able to identify those things that are rooted within, we must ask the Lord to help us. Don’t make the mistake I made in the past of condemning yourself, but instead be honest with the Lord and He will help you. He already knows us.

O Lord , You have searched me and known me. You know my sitting down and my rising up; You understand my thought afar off. Psalms 139:1-2 NKJV

Don’t get impatient with the process but trust that the Lord will help you to pull out the roots. When the Israelites were facing their enemies, the Lord told them:

“And the Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. But the Lord your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed.”  Deuteronomy 7:22-23 NKJV

The roots that are within us are our real enemies not the people around us, our struggle is not against flesh or blood (Eph. 6:12). The Lord will help you take out those things that don’t belong in your heart or mind, but it needs to be little by little or else it would become too much to handle. In the process of renewing our mind and hearts, we are in the wilderness and the beasts are many, but rest assured that they will be destroyed. They are destroyed when we identify the root problem and give it to the Lord, when we do this we are refined. 

But He knows the way that I take; When He has tested me, I shall come forth as gold. Job 23:10 NKJV

Gold must be extracted first, likewise our roots must be extracted first and be out in the open. Once the root is out in the open, we must be refined. Being refined is a process that is not easy and that will take time but that will be well worth it. This process will look different for each of us, there may be stumbling blocks on the way, moments we may feel like we are still the same…that we keep on making the same mistake over and over, that the thing we are trying to change is only getting worse. And it may be if we are doing it by our own strength, but when we lean on the Lord He will establish us and strengthen us. 

But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal Glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. 1 Peter 5:10 NKJV

Sometimes we go through things in life which upset us. I myself have been in situations in which I got upset but when I took the time to think about it (many years later) I was mad for the wrong reasons. My walk in Christ has helped me to see the different areas in my life that I need to work on. There are moments of suffering that we endure when we identify the problems that we have within, but the Lord reveals these things to us so that we can be refined and made new in Him. We will be uncomfortable when we see those things that we need to work on but know that God shows you these things for a reason to help you pull the roots and grow in Him. Maybe it’s time that we take the step to root out the weeds in our life.