Conflict just drains the passion right out of you. Do you ever start a day and it’s going to be a great day -- you know it? You just fly out of bed. You’re awake from the moment you get up. You shower and eat breakfast -- you’re ready. You’re on the way out the door and you have a fight with your husband or your wife. All the zip goes out of your doo-dah. It’s like the air going out of a tire when the conflict comes. That’s what conflict does to us. It takes all the passion out of our lives. Your attitude all of a sudden just goes flat.
Let’s be honest about this. Some of you are in situations at home or at work where the conflict is constant. Maybe you’re even doing all that you can to minimize the conflict, but it’s coming from the other person. How do you keep your passion in a situation like that?
Let’s be honest about this. Some of you are in situations at home or at work where the conflict is constant. Maybe you’re even doing all that you can to minimize the conflict, but it’s coming from the other person. How do you keep your passion in a situation like that?
You decide to protect yourself from the three passion killing emotions that can come into your life in conflict. You cannot control the other person, but you can control the kind of emotions you have in the midst of the conflict. The three emotions that kill your passion in the midst of conflict are resentment, jealously and prolonged anger.
You must make the decision when it comes to resentment, jealousy and prolonged anger - to let it go. This is why forgiveness is so important. God who knows you, who made you, who created you knows that you can’t carry resentment. So He says here’s a way to let it go. Even logically you know that the resentment that you have in your life is not hurting the person you’re resentful against. They don’t even know you are resentful. It’s hurting you. The anger is hurting you.
If you want the passion to be restored in your heart, in your life, you have to forgive. You have to let it go.
I know what some of you are thinking. "Let them off the hook? How can I do that?" I’m not telling you to let them off the hook, I’m telling you to put them on God’s hook. Let them off your hook. Just put them in God’s hands. If you don’t, then that unforgiveness is going to kill the passion in your life, the rest of your life. If you do not forgive then the resentment that you have for that person is controlling your passion and by that it’s controlling your life. And you do not want them to control your life. So you forgive and you let it go. That’s how you resolve the conflict in your heart.
Be careful of your thoughts, because they will become words. Be careful of your words, for they will become actions. Be careful of your actions, they will become your character. Be careful of your character, because it will be your destiny. That is why your thoughts are so important and you have to discipline what you think about. When you are young, you think thoughts just come and go randomly, but as you get older, you realize you can train your mind and you can control the "random" thought.
I know what some of you are thinking. "Let them off the hook? How can I do that?" I’m not telling you to let them off the hook, I’m telling you to put them on God’s hook. Let them off your hook. Just put them in God’s hands. If you don’t, then that unforgiveness is going to kill the passion in your life, the rest of your life. If you do not forgive then the resentment that you have for that person is controlling your passion and by that it’s controlling your life. And you do not want them to control your life. So you forgive and you let it go. That’s how you resolve the conflict in your heart.
Be careful of your thoughts, because they will become words. Be careful of your words, for they will become actions. Be careful of your actions, they will become your character. Be careful of your character, because it will be your destiny. That is why your thoughts are so important and you have to discipline what you think about. When you are young, you think thoughts just come and go randomly, but as you get older, you realize you can train your mind and you can control the "random" thought.
Now let's talk about my situation. As you know, I have ALS and the thoughts that go through my mind are all over the place. From asking, "why me?' to "I know that I am going to get better." So you see, my thoughts run the gambit. The question is, where do I choose to focus? Trust me, it is easy for me to live the whole day in the thought, "Why me?" but that really gets me down. and I find myself without any energy. I feel like a dead man walking.
Yet, when I change my focus to think positively and control my thoughts, not only does my attitude change but I can again dream and imagine life differently. I need to spend more time talking to myself and less time listening to myself. Because of my physical disability, I am unable to serve other people which is my passion. The only outlet where I can serve others is with my weekly blog. I think about it throughout the week and Lori puts it on the internet every Monday.
If what I write about means something to you, you should let me know with a comment. Even one sentence will tell me that I am making a difference in your life - which will make a difference in my life.
Yet, when I change my focus to think positively and control my thoughts, not only does my attitude change but I can again dream and imagine life differently. I need to spend more time talking to myself and less time listening to myself. Because of my physical disability, I am unable to serve other people which is my passion. The only outlet where I can serve others is with my weekly blog. I think about it throughout the week and Lori puts it on the internet every Monday.
If what I write about means something to you, you should let me know with a comment. Even one sentence will tell me that I am making a difference in your life - which will make a difference in my life.
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