Time heals all wounds, the old saying goes. But this is not true. Instead what you do with the time given to you is what allows the healing to take place. Many people don’t want to take the time necessary to make things change. Maybe they don’t have the capacity, because the hurt is so fresh or no one ever taught them the necessary steps. Well, this post will give you some necessary steps so when you are in the midst of pain, you will already have the tools to be implemented. This will also help you to guide those coming behind you so they too will be equipped. We need to take the time outside of crisis moments to figure out how to cope in the crisis moments so we don’t set ourselves up for a complete fall.
Remember, the two areas that Christians are warned to combat are vanity of the mind and lasciviousness (See No Christian Pimps Allowed). Vanity of the mind deals with what’s going on inside of us and lasciviousness expresses what’s going on in the mind. For example, if you have deep hatred for someone (vanity of the mind) that has been brewing for years you may decide to just punch them one day or curse them out (lasciviousness). See, if you don’t deal with the internal junk, the junk will manifest externally. And only God, through Jesus Christ, can clean you up permanently, where you walk unbound on this earth and eventually experience eternal freedom from all consuming junk.
Steps to Being Level-Headed
1. Get to know Jesus Christ in salvation. Romans 10:9-10 tells us how to ensure we have a place in heaven.
2. Get to know God in sanctification. Once you have a place in heaven, you have to improve your walk on earth. Philippians 2:12 says “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” This tells us that now that we have a place in heaven, we better live to express that God now resides in us. We can do this with God’s power (Philippians 2:13). Hebrews 11:6 says, “But without faith [it is] impossible to please [him]: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and [that] he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” You must then study the attributes of God so you 1) know what behavior to seek after and 2) understand that He is a god that you can trust to help you succeed.
3. Get rid of what will cause sin internally and externally. You may have to throw away some treasured items that will cause your mind and body to sin. You may have to stop hanging with some folks that you know are toxic. You may have to stop watching certain movies and hanging certain places to get your mind right so your body will follow.
4. Remember God’s promise. If you purse God’s presence by seeking to be level-headed, great things will happen: “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you” (Joshua 3:5).
Being level-headed may not be easy, but it is possible when we let God be the Helper that He tells us He is.
Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith