Red Wednesday's Wisdom - CHG #12, Part One

Journal My Prayerful Thoughts and
Seek the Answer and Direction in God's Word
In bringing closure to CHG #11, I asked that you honestly examine the one issue that has had the greatest potential to enslaving you in relationship to addictive personality, alcoholism, caffeine/sodas, depression, drug abuse, eating issues, pornography, smoking, sugar/substitutes, or identifying an issue that was not listed but is a challenge for you_________.   With that in mind, what was that one enslavement issue that you most identified with at this time in your life?  And of the 11 CHG’s that have been presented thus far, which one did you choose in being most helpful to setting you free from the hold of that enslaving issue?

Historically speaking, over the past 14 years, my most significant reoccurring enslavement issue has been related to my passion for drinking coffee.   For most of those years, I have been at peace without the coffee, but there are those month to month stretches where I am triggered into thinking about how much I miss the taste and comfort of that brewing aroma. I tell myself that I can do it in moderation, but unfortunately, I fall back into that trap of excessiveness, followed by a restless spirit, because I know that this is not healthy for me or what God wants for me.  Unequivocally, I know that my physical health has been far better off, because of the warning I heeded many years ago that said, “Put a lid on it!”  The message came to me while serving on the prayer team at my church.  I “happened” to glance up at the huge church screen that was in front of me when those words flashed before me as a cup of coffee without a lid was also being displayed.  Though that short written and visual memo was intended for the large congregation of coffee drinkers, who were being reminded on how to prevent and minimize accidents, I had the innate understanding that the cautionary implications of this message had a far deeper meaning for me personally.  Through my spiritual eyes, I knew I had witnessed God's written handwork.  God was bringing me revelation and telling me that it was time to stop the coffee drinking.  The moment to be honest with myself had arrived. I needed to admit that the physical symptoms I had been experiencing were related to my excessive coffee use, whether it was caffeinated or decaffeinated.

As a nurse, God’s cautionary warning gave me the kick I needed to do some further investigation into the potential side effects of too much coffee.  I quickly discovered that the symptoms I was having were undeniably related to my coffee consumption, and there were additional and more serious side effects that would surface, unless I did indeed put a lid on it.  Here is the indelible and everlasting imprint that God had written on my heart; “I am the great Physician.  I will always care for you and be concerned about you when it comes to the details of your health – spiritual and physical.”

CHG #3 is the CHG that is always the most helpful one for me to implement when I am in my weakened state of wanting what I do not need.  I constantly ask God, through prayer and journaling, to help me in being freed from the hold that coffee drinking can have on me.  And as I write this post, I know that having someone in the flesh that I can be accountable to is so encouraging and very helpful .

Looking back at that church screen message that said, “Put a lid on it,” I hope you can see how the power of writing or journaling can lessen our clutter, as it has for me by lessening the clutter of my physical health.

Reflect on the words in CHG #12 that say:

“Journal My Prayerful Thoughts and Seek the Answer and Direction in God’s Word”

What does CHG #12 imply as being the root cause of clutter when this guideline is not applied? 

♥ My clutter builds up when I do not journal/write down what I am thinking or praying.

♥ My clutter builds up when I do not seek answers in God’s Word. 

♥ My clutter builds up when I do not seek direction in God’s Word.

Therefore, when I journal my prayerful thoughts and seek the answer and direction in God’s Word, I lessen my clutter, and this brings healing to me.

Journaling = Writing

Journaling/Writing helps me to see more clearly what is inside of my head or heart.  It can include my ideas, thoughts, feelings, messages, and prayers.

In some of my first teaching, I talked about how less is more, and this plays out when it comes to our communication, be it verbal or written.  Fewer words can bring more clarity and less confusion, and this also gets reflected in our words of prayer.  Your Orientation SW was the start up to introducing you to the process of journaling/writing as I encouraged you to use one word responses.  SW can be thought of as very simple way to pray as thoughts and feelings get identified.  

♥ When I journal/write things down, I am less scattered and more balanced because I am conserving my STEM:
Space
Time
Energy
Money

It can be as simple and practical as writing out a list of  “to dos”, a grocery list, or errands to “run” and the order to do them in.  Imagine the savings in just your gas usage when this is done.  

♥ When I seek for answers in God’s Word; this reflects the importance of God being the number one relationship in my life.  Therefore, God’s Word is my first resource to any question.  I still seek and respect man’s input, but my ultimate decisions and answers are based on what God tells me.

♥ When I seek direction in God’s Word, I am gaining not only information but revelation as well. I love the following acronym that tells me what the Bible is for:
Basic
Instructions
Before
Leaving
Earth

This acronym truly says it all; God’s Word gives me instruction to my direction.

The Scripture to support CHG #12 is from Ezekiel 21:5, “My sword is in my hand, and it will not return to its sheath until its work is finished.”   

What does Ezekiel 21:5 imply as being the root cause of my clutter from the perspective of what God’s Word says?

♥ My clutter builds up when I do not have my sword in my hand.

♥ My clutter builds up when I do not finish the work I have started.  

Therefore, when my sword is in my hand, and I use it until my work is complete, my clutter will be lessened, and this will bring healing to me.

What could I possibly mean when I say that my clutter builds up when I do not have my sword in my hand?  How is having a sword in my hand going to lessen my clutter?  First of all, CHG #12 is the last CHG, so it is going to challenge you to go a bit deeper into studying the Scriptures so you can get the answers, direction, instruction, and revelation that you go seeking for in God's Word. When I go to God’s Word daily, I supernaturally go deeper into my relationship with God as well.  I am applying CHG #9 by making the decision to actively seek God and accept the entire Bible as His Truth, not just parts of it.  This also reflects the teaching that went with CHG #2 that tells me to “Love The Lord.” So, I pick my Bible up, I open it,  I read it, I meditate on it, I study it, I research it, and then I journal/write about it.

In my researching and studying the word “sword,” I discovered that the sword is not limited to just the weapon of a warrior.  Go to The Life Recovery Bible and look up Ezekiel 21:5.  You will see that this verse is within the chapter segment that is titled, “The Lord’s Sword of Judgment.”  Just by examining this title we see that the sword is about judgment and it is the Lord who possesses it.  Continue to read on and you discover that God is the spokesperson, and He is giving a cautionary message to Ezekiel for the Israelites.  This chapter segment is about the clutter that comes out of doing things our way and not heeding the words of warning that God gives all of us over, and over, and over, and over…..  Just remember those precious people in your life who hear you giving them those same kinds of warnings over and over and over.  God is doing the same thing with all of us no matter how old or young we are.  The warnings are for our good and not for our destruction, but if we continue to go it our way, rather than His way, then we face the consequences of our choices.

This coming week, your SW is about picking up your Bible. Open it, read it, meditate on it, study it, research it, and then journal/write about it as it relates to the word “sword” in Ezekiel 21:1-17.  We will then talk more about it next week.