2 Samuel 7:18-29
Albert Einstein once said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."
I
create my problems, usually using other people, God, and Satan (if I'm
really reaching), as the scapegoats - the causes of my problems. If I
were still drinking, I would still be trying to figure out how to cut
back. I would still be trying to change brands, change bars, and change
people. I would still be trying to figure out the perfect formula to get
the perfect buzz without all the trouble that comes with complete
belligerence. I would still be trying to figure out how to go out and
drink with friends but to stay out of jail, or to stay away from the
wheel.
There comes a point in time in every problem that my thinking just doesn't work.
Drinking is one of those problems that I gave up trying to fix. I had to get a whole new set of attitudes, ideas, and emotional arrangements. My way stopped working long before I ever stopped drinking.
But then, there's these other problems. I still look at porn when I think that I can sit alone in front of a computer and resist. I still get resentful when I think I can take criticism. I still want to control people when I think I can surrender my illusion of power. I still think that "hitting the bottom" is the only way out of my problems. It's the only way I'll get to the end of my thinking, and rely on a different solutions.
But yet, there is life. I woke up this morning with sober breath and sober ambitions. How is it that I went from wanting to drink for thirteen years, not being able to stop once I started, to one day not wanting to ever drink again? How is it that I had a tremendous fear of a God who was out to get me, a God who was surely going to rip my life apart for the wrong I had done, but one day woke up with a brand new ideal of a God who is loving, generous, and merciful?
At some point in every problem I face, there comes a time when I can either keep using the same thinking under the delusion that I have the answer, or I can give it up. Throw it out. Rely on a power much brighter than my own intellect.
Who am I that God should remove my obsession to drink compulsively and dangerously? Loved.
Who am I that God should give me perseverance to write day after day? Loved.
Who am I that God should be available whenever I'm ready to stop using my problem-infused thinking? Loved.
Who are we that we have an alternate way to go when our thinking drives us deeper into our problems? Loved.
Who are we that we've been up against the walls of life, with no solutions of our own, only to find ourselves filled with strength that just didn't seem to be there before to get through? Loved.
I don't believe the places I'm at in life are coincidences. I look back over the scripts of all the stories in my life, and the best word I can use to describe it is divine. Obviously, I took some action to get to where I am in life, but if I were to sit down three years ago and outline my future, it would look nothing like I would have planned.
Looking back over all the stories, I see that there were people, places, and situations that I couldn't have scripted. There are so many interactions and events that helped pave the way to where I am now, but the thing is I didn't plan those. Here's a few:
Writing
Albert Einstein once said, "We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."
There comes a point in time in every problem that my thinking just doesn't work.
Drinking is one of those problems that I gave up trying to fix. I had to get a whole new set of attitudes, ideas, and emotional arrangements. My way stopped working long before I ever stopped drinking.
But then, there's these other problems. I still look at porn when I think that I can sit alone in front of a computer and resist. I still get resentful when I think I can take criticism. I still want to control people when I think I can surrender my illusion of power. I still think that "hitting the bottom" is the only way out of my problems. It's the only way I'll get to the end of my thinking, and rely on a different solutions.
But yet, there is life. I woke up this morning with sober breath and sober ambitions. How is it that I went from wanting to drink for thirteen years, not being able to stop once I started, to one day not wanting to ever drink again? How is it that I had a tremendous fear of a God who was out to get me, a God who was surely going to rip my life apart for the wrong I had done, but one day woke up with a brand new ideal of a God who is loving, generous, and merciful?
At some point in every problem I face, there comes a time when I can either keep using the same thinking under the delusion that I have the answer, or I can give it up. Throw it out. Rely on a power much brighter than my own intellect.
Who am I that God should remove my obsession to drink compulsively and dangerously? Loved.
Who am I that God should give me perseverance to write day after day? Loved.
Who am I that God should be available whenever I'm ready to stop using my problem-infused thinking? Loved.
Who are we that we have an alternate way to go when our thinking drives us deeper into our problems? Loved.
Who are we that we've been up against the walls of life, with no solutions of our own, only to find ourselves filled with strength that just didn't seem to be there before to get through? Loved.
I don't believe the places I'm at in life are coincidences. I look back over the scripts of all the stories in my life, and the best word I can use to describe it is divine. Obviously, I took some action to get to where I am in life, but if I were to sit down three years ago and outline my future, it would look nothing like I would have planned.
Looking back over all the stories, I see that there were people, places, and situations that I couldn't have scripted. There are so many interactions and events that helped pave the way to where I am now, but the thing is I didn't plan those. Here's a few:
Writing
- I never planned on meeting the man who would set my passion on fire
- I never planned on reading my stuff at coffee shops
- I never planned on reading my stuff at churches
- I never planned on starting a small group
- I never planned on meeting the man who would inspire me to start a small group with him and his wife
- I never planned on getting a call from a guy about another job
- I never planned on becoming the general manager of the restaurant I work at
- I never planned on being offered a job
- I never planned on turning down the job
Today's Actions: Take out a piece of paper. Make three headings for three significant events in life right now (like work, church, school, relationships, etc.). Under each heading, look back and think about key people and events that we happened to be in the right place and the right time for. Think about the conversations and events that we didn't plan. They just happened. List those under the headings. When we're done, reflect on how unscripted and unplanned our lives really are. Think about the possibility that we've received help from an outside source in getting to where we are today.
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