CUT IT OUT

There are many people who struggle with things they cannot hide. Things that threaten their livelihood, their relationships and their very lives. They are on display to be analyzed, scrutinized and judged. But what about things that quietly and insidiously sabotage our growth, our relationships, our very lives.  It is what I call the “silent killer”. Something slowly quietly killing Gods best for your life. Sometimes you know it’s there and choose to do nothing and sometimes you are totally oblivious. This is what I have come to love about the Lord and this journey, He will reveal to you little by little those things about “yourself” that need to be addressed. Those things that are holding you back from all God has for you. Those things that leave you arrogant, regretful, bitter, self-righteous, sad, lonely, confused, defiant, complacent, etc.  Lets face it, no matter how much time we spend analyzing someone else there is plenty of neuroticism to go around. In other words we all have issues.

At this stage of my life I feel like I am being asked to let go of the old to experience the new. I totally trust the Lord, really I do. But I couldn’t help but ask Him why do you have to let go of the old to experience the new? Why can’t you keep the old and have the new. Why is it necessary to lay some things to rest? He said there are always things you will take with you to the new, primarily lessons learned. But there are certain aspect of the old that don’t fit with the new. I have to teach you how to cut out the parts of the old you no longer need so it won’t contaminate the new I am trying to do. I saw this with my on eyes a couple of weeks ago.  I have these beautiful prosperity plants that have been growing very well.  Even when things were tough I could look at these plants and they would remind me of hope, of a better day.  Well one of my plants was turning yellow at the bottom of its stalk and soon it traveled all the way nearly to the top of the plant and all the leaves on all the plants were drooping. This really concerned me and it may sound silly but I became very fearful of what this might mean to my situation. Finally I squeezed the yellow stalk and it was hollow. My prosperity plant was dying! I went out and bought bottled drinking water because I read on the internet it could be receiving too much fluoride in the tap water.  But the yellow kept traveling up the plant! I was in a panic! In my spirit I knew the Lord was telling me to cut away the dead part but I just couldn’t. I told the Lord if I cut away the dead part I will cut away the root and the plant might die! He said if you don’t it’s going to die anyway.  I still couldn’t do it, until I looked at the other two plants that were in the same vase and a little yellow was appearing at the end of their stalks. Right then without hesitation I pulled out the one that was yellow nearly to the top and hacked off almost the entire stalk. I then put it in a small jar.  I then took out the other two and cut off the small amount of yellow at the bottom of those two plants.  Now all three plants are still alive and growing again! They are growing new roots! The leaves are even standing at attention again:). I learned a lot from that.  If I hadn’t gotten rid of the dead part not only would it have killed that one plant it would have killed and destroyed the other plants near and connected to it.  It’s the same way with us. If we don’t cut away the negativity in ourselves it will not only hinder our lives it will hinder and contaminate those connected to us.

Sometimes I have a tendency to think that the way it is is how it will always be. In other words I put God in a box. What God has shown me is that since I have chosen to put my trust in Him He cannot allow me to do that. He has to open my mind to new experiences and more importantly He has to open my mind to who He is. I don’t know if you can relate but sometimes with me because I become so settled and set in my ways He has to drag me kicking and screaming to the next level. I’d like to think though that I am getting better. Well at least I am more aware:-).  I hear you Lord.

There is a scripture in the bible (Jesus talking) that says “the thief comes to steal kill and destroy” (paraphrased John 10:10). Sometimes people have a tendency to keep the Word of God in a religious box. So in day-to-day living it can lose its effectiveness because we can become accustom to consulting the Word only on certain days, in certain settings or when there is a traumatic event. But Gods word is not religious, it is his conversation with us. He guides us with His Word, He loves us, warns us, He literally speaks to us. Now I am not so naive to believe that everyone believes what I believe but whether you believe there is a thief or not, there are certain aspects of our personalities we have become attached to because of life experiences, that if left unchecked can steal, kill and destroy our lives and our life purpose.  If we don’t learn to cut out the dead parts it can make us indifferent, ungrateful and dissatisfied. Eventually we become a people void of hope and we stop living in one way or another.

I do believe that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy and he may not come in the obvious front door.  Sometimes, and I will venture to say most times He comes in the backdoor.  He’ll sneak up behind us when times are good and we become arrogant, prideful and complacent taking God’s goodness for granted and believing our own hype. Other times things are so bad we become numb to the pain, we procrastinate, lose our self-discipline and no longer bother believing things will get better.  We become jaded, bitter and hopeless. The enemy can be very subtle and before you know it you look up and that which brings the most meaning to your life is gone.  But I also believe Jesus when He says in the last part of John 10:10  ” But I came so that you could have life and life more abundantly” (paraphrased).  The Word also tells us to examine ourselves.  Whether you feel justified or not, whether you feel right or not, whether you have been hurt or not, whether you have made mistakes or not, whether life has seemed unfair or not….examine yourself.  Some things you just have to let go. Otherwise one way or another it will absolutely be used against you, no doubt…secret sabotage.

I want to encourage you that if God is moving you to let go of those ineffective feelings, emotions or traits that are holding you back from being the instrument of peace and love you were created to be, cut them lose. This can be a slow, hard and painful process, if you are stubborn like me:-)  There is no getting around the process but oh so worth it! And what’s so cool is that He will even bless you during the process. This is how you obtain the peace that passes understanding.  I know, this doesn’t make you feel very good. But keep a couple of things in mind.  No matter how well people are able to dress it up and make it look pretty, you are not alone. We all will face this choice and when you feel worn out from the challenge of it all read Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint”. The word “wait” in this text comes from the Hebrew word Qavah and means to wait, look for, hope and expect, to wait or look eagerly for.  Remember don’t turn God’s word into religion and reason away its effectiveness, He is speaking to you. Eagerly await Him to move in your situation, expect Him to help you with your feelings and emotions, look for Him today to turn that situation around for your good. It’s okay to hope, don’t fear, He’s got you. I’m praying for you, pray for me.

Love, Ms Wanda, GAC