(Sorry about my weird fonts today.....blame blogger.)
Are you as easily discouraged as myself? I can fall into discouragement so easily even though I am so convicted and even though I am so motivated to get debt-free. How is this possible? Well, my mom said it well.
When she first found out what we were doing, she was very encouraging, but she did have a word of warning, "Make sure you put on your spiritual armour as Satan is going to try to attack you. He will not like what you are doing." I heeded her words, but I still wasn't prepared entirely.
The attacks never come from where you think they'll come from. Satan is so wiley. Guess where they come from? My own voice inside my head.
I heard someone once say to me, "Refuse to compare. You are unique. You have nothing to prove."
My mistake is comparing - big time. Is it coincidence that I have heard of more than one family paying off their mortgage in the next month or two? What????? What about me????? How is this possible? So, immediately, I slip into despair, woe is me, I wish I were further along, sob. So, Satan succeeds because I hear that voice in my head telling me I'm a failure because it isn't our family. I may as well quit.
Well, let me help you out, if my sad story reminds me of yourself. Once again, there is hope and where do I get it of course? Scripture, naturally.
Galatians 5:1 begins with a great message, " It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (I'm hoping you noticed that I emphasize or bold just about everything in that verse.) I realize Paul is talking about freedom from the law and being circumcised, as the passage goes on, but to me, there is a much greater principle at work here as well. It is the freedom Christ offers us in all areas of our life. Freedom from sin and the bondage of anything, like debt, if we follow Biblical principles. Paul knows how weak these Galatians are and he reminds them to "stand firm". He warns them to not let themselves "be burdened again by a yoke of slavery". Is that not how you feel when you are carrying a financial burden - like it is a yoke of slavery????? We do.
Paul goes on and this is my favourite part....
"7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? 8 That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 9 “A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.” 10 I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty. 11 Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished. 12 As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!"
Again, it is clear he is talking about circumcision and how the Galatians, as new believers, were doing really great at first, but then some "agitators" came along and told them they had to be circumcised - they fell for this and they got all messed up which is why Paul had to address this issue for them.
How can this relate to us? We are clearly not struggling with whether or not to be circumcised, at least I'm not! I think the point is, we are running a race in another way - to follow Christ and the principles laid out in Scripture. For me, I'm running the "Get-Out-Of-Debt" Race, and guess what, someone cut in on me. It was that voice inside my head. Other times, I get cut off by those well-meaning friends I talked about who are out to tell me what I'm doing isn't really worthwhile and I should just relax and enjoy my money now, pay off debt later. I get "thrown into confusion" just like the Galatians.
Trust me, I'm not saying paying off debt is what saves me..."in that case the offense of the cross has been abolished". No, I'm trying to show my faith by getting what hinders my faith out of my life. I get slowed down by, I love the way he describes these people, "those agitators". I'm not going to suggest they "go the whole way and emasculate themselves"....that seems a bit harsh! I'm just going to suggest I ignore the criticism from the voice inside my own head or from those who are making me feel like I am wasting my time.
There, now I'm back on track, just like that. It really is that simple for me. When I'm feeling discouraged I need to immediately stop and ask myself where that feeling came from, i.e., just like Paul, ask myself, "Who is cutting in on me?" Once I identify it then I must ask myself if it is a valid criticism or is it an attack from Satan specifically set out to discourage me? Most of the time it is not valid and it really is a flaming dart from the enemy. A good reminder to me to be more on guard as I really was "running a good race" at the time.
Another version says, "Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" I am trying to obey and I get hindered from obeying. It makes sense. If Satan can keep me in debt, then I'm in bondage longer and then I'm way less effective as a Christian, as a mom, as a wife, as a church member....you get the idea.
So, I take heart and I try to stay in the Word as it gives me the only true encouragement to press on. Losing focus will land me back in the pit of despair.
Let me quickly share a small moment of success this weekend.....
I was way behind on dinner on Saturday night. Everyone was starving. Typically, we would have quickly ordered in pizza or gone out for dinner. Renaissance Man was also hungry and knew I was in a pinch. Everyone had been working outside all day and they were also cold, so off he went and picked up some hot chocolate (on sale) and while he was there he saw that the frozen (yuck) pizzas were on an amazing sale. He called me and suggested he pick some up (yuck). Ok, go ahead. In a few minutes (yuck) we were eating frozen pizzas. But guess what? They weren't yuck! The new ones actually had fresh vegetables on them and real garlic - I was amazed. The kids loved them and we had the restaurant feel for a fraction of the price. Dinner was saved! It's a small victory, but I think it's a new behaviour I'm celebrating more than anything, for all of us.
On that note, watch out for anyone, including your own voice inside your head, that is trying to cut in on you or hinder you this week! Freedom is around the corner......
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