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| (I did not take this photo - found it on google but can't remember where) |
I love roller coasters. I mean, ever since I was a little girl I love anything that gives me a quick rush of adrenaline, and as I've gotten older I've desired for bigger and better things than roller coasters... but it stopped there. See, I got smarter, too, as I got older. And as I got smarter I began to look at the risks and realized that roller coasters were a safe risk - much safer than many of the adrenaline rushes I could seek after like cliff diving or bungee jumping or whatever new they came out with next. I think I'd try some of those things given the right time and opportunity but since it hasn't presented itself, I normally stick to roller coasters.
What isn't fun for anyone, though, is when our emotions feel like roller coasters. When we "ride" smoothly downhill only to face another click-clack-clank as we go back up another hill. Or when we suddenly are swept around a turn and into a big drop with a swirly, terrifying twist at the end. Emotions are like that - they can suddenly and swiftly sweep us from one extreme to the other. We can wake up and think we are going to have a great day and then be knocked down by a phone call, a comment from a loved one, an accident we weren't prepared for, or whatever. Or, in another case, we can wake up prepared for a tough day we thought we'd have to face and be surprised by a turn of events that changes everything.
Emotions can change in an instant. I feel like mine do that a lot lately. I'm trying to be honest with readers here as we go through this journey. If I'm being honest, I have to admit that I feel like I swing from super high to uber low on some days, and sometimes multiple times in one day! It's crazy! And it's easy to let my walk with God be tied to those emotions. It's easy to think God is great and let my faith be strong when things are good, and then to let it waiver when things are bad.
...but that's wrong. WAY wrong.
One of my dearest and best friends reminded me this week - right when I needed to hear it during one of those low moments - that God is NOT emotional.
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| (I did not take this photo - found it on google but can't remember where) |
He is a strong tower.
He is our fortress.
He is our strength.
He is a consuming fire.
But His consuming fire never loses control. He often uses our circumstances to fuel that fire and change us, but our emotions don't change His plan. Never. Because His plan isn't about us. We are part of it, but it isn't about us. We have to believe that He is in control. It's not a roller coaster. It's a plan that stretches from eternity past to an infinite future and we are a tiny part of it. Our part, though, is important. God says each of us is His masterpiece. He created us for a specific part of this plan and will use us to accomplish His purpose.
So next time you think you are on an emotional roller coaster, remember, God isn't emotional at all. He is solid and He is strong. Lean on Him and he will keep us stable and refine us into who He needs us to be.
And hold me accountable to that, too, will you?
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