Red Wednesday's Wisdom - CHG #11, Part Four

Act by Responding Verses Reacting
So, what one word did you identify as ensnaring you into becoming reactive?   For me, the word was pride, and it had to do with knowing some uncomfortable information that I knew the person I was listening to did not have.  Initially I reacted to what I heard, by saying, “Our lives are more intertwined to that situation you are describing than you know.”  Now that may not sound reactive to you, but the second it came out of my mouth, I had to humbly admit to myself that it was a “knee jerk,” prideful, reaction to information that only I was privy to.  If I could have deleted what I had said, I would have responded by simply continuing to listen with attentive ears and eyes, while remaining silent.  The confidentiality, that someone else had in me, could have been compromised and at risk as a result of my “know it all” pride, and that had the potential to create a lot of relational clutter.  Fortunately, a phone call distracted our conversation, and I was very thankful for the hand of God that put my mouth at a standstill and prevented any further conversation on that subject matter.  Hopefully, you can see from what I have just shared with you that our reacting can be hidden or subtle, and that is why we can often be deceived by our own character, unless we are willing to take personal responsibility for honestly looking at ourselves from the inside out. 

With addictions so rampant, I want to briefly address the clutter that builds up in individual lives, families, friendships, and the workplace as a result of them.

What is an Addiction?
Addiction = Reacting
Addiction = "Quick Fix"
Addiction = Excess
Addiction = Destructive Habits

Addictions are “stinkin thinkin.”  They are rooted in lie based thinking, which all of us have been addicted to at one time or another. Consequently, we all need God to heal us from our “stinkin thinkin” by renewing our thinking, and replacing the lies we believe in with the Truth of God’s Word and His Son, Jesus.

Addictions enslave us and they are representative of anything outside of God being our “Quick Fix.”  Think of how often we all react to wanting a “quick fix” that takes over, consumes, and can even destroys us.  It can be what we crave with respect to what we:

♥ Eat - sugars, fats, carbohydrates, junk food, artificial foods and preservatives
♥ Drink - sodas, caffeine, juices, diet drinks, alcohol
♥ Smoke  - cigarettes, cigars, marijuana, crack
♥ Medicate with – prescriptive and non prescriptive drugs, and over the counter remedies
♥ Look at or hear – TV, internet, movies, shows, magazines, books, music, radio 

We can often be deceived by thinking or believing that our craving will calm us, comfort us, or makes us feel better.  It may for a while, but eventually the desire becomes so great that we think we cannot live without it; that thinking directly affects our behavior, and it causes us to become increasingly more reactive and cluttered up by the craving.  Addictions make us BUSY: Being Under Satan’s Yoke!  We are wanting too much, moving too fast, and working too hard and long!

When I talk about ADD or addictions, I always refer to them as being symbolic of a squirrel.  Study a squirrel’s behavior, and you will see just how squirrelly they are as they scurry back and forth in scattered motion.  Realistically, they do have the ability to move slower and with purposefulness, which is reflective in their balanced tight rope skills on electrical lines, but that is not their preference.  Watching squirrels can give you insight into what it can look like and feel like to be living a life with ADD or addictions.  I know firsthand how it has looked and felt to be scattered, impulsive, confused, in constant motion, going somewhere, but really going nowhere. I know all too well the frustration, anger, distraction, and perfectionism.  I could go on and on with the symptoms.  But here is the hope - it is possible to overcome the clutter of ADD, addictions, stress, cancer, or whatever the disease or disorder is labeled as.  How does that happen?   It takes place when I make the decision to be attentive and respond to God’s call: I focus my attention on The God who heals.  God’s Son Jesus, is always standing in the gap for me and for you.  Look to Him for guidance, listen to Him for direction, and open yourself up to being rescued by Him, and then follow His lead, because He is coming for you!

This week, your SW is to consider which one of the following enslavement issues has had a hold on you: the addictive personality, alcoholism, caffeine/sodas, depression, drug abuse, eating issues, pornography, smoking, sugar/substitutes, or other_______.  Of the 11 CHG’s that have been presented to you, which one is the one that will most help you to being set free from this hold?

For more than 2 years, I have been sharing my teaching with you in regards to “The 12 Clutter Healing Guidelines.”   In my next posting, we will be closing in on the 12th and final CHG.  Do you have an idea as to what that CHG might be?  Here is a clue; I have constantly been using it as I have shared these past couple years with you.

Red Wednesday's Wisdom - CHG #11, Part Three

Act by Responding Verses Reacting
I hope you gained a deeper insight about who you are, as you considered how you thought and felt about The Lord coming into your life, the factors that have caused you to feel grief, the root cause of why you have reacted rather than responded to life, and the change you wanted to make in an attempt to respond verses react to life.  

I can only reinforce what I have shared with you in the past as being my experience.  In my grief stricken desperation of loneliness due to my divorce, I initially reacted with yelling, clenched fists, and excessive drinking and smoking.  There was blaming, fighting, and a list that could go on and on, but here was the bottom line: I had come to the end of myself, and I wanted to be rescued.  I could no longer do life on my own.  So in the midst of my reacting to the pain and chaos, I also began the long journey of learning how to respond to my grief by making the one biggest change and decision that I have ever made, I turned to God.  Gradually, I came to accept His Son, Jesus, as my Lord (husband and guide) and Savior (He saves me from all kinds of disasters).   Over time, I can honestly say that my life became less complicated, less confusing, and less disorganized.  My path and direction became more clear and simplistic.  I learned that I was never forsaken or alone, and that I would always be loved and nurtured by God Himself, His Son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit.  God is the only One who can ultimately guide me, save me, and heal me in this life and the one to come.  And though I have always had a tendency to react to life, I am learning to respond to it.  With God’s help and direction, through His Holy Spirit and  His Holy Word, I am a work in process. 

CHG # 11, Act by Responding Verses Reacting, represents the spiritual force that drove me to develop The Clutter Class Curriculum.  It has been a very personal and heartfelt driving force in response to ADD, Addictions, and the hidden and secretive issues related to my divorce.  My passion and desire was to find healing and freedom from these very enslaving issues.  “The Twelve Clutter Healing Guidelines” came out of that desire to be healed and freed.  These guidelines are Holy Spirit inspired, and they are void of drugs being the first line of defense, as well as being the answers and approach to anything that builds up or piles up in our lives.

ADD, addictions, stress, whatever the dis-ease, it’s all clutter!  CHG #11 is about taking responsibility for what happens in my life.

The clutter of ADD:

1.      From a medical perspective, ADD stands for Attention Deficit Disorder, and since the 1970’s there has been much controversy regarding this disorder.

 

      What is a Deficit? 

 

Deficit = Lacking  

Deficit = Incomplete  

Deficit = Absence

Deficit = Shortage

2.      From a spiritual perspective, ADD stands for Accountability Deceivement Disorder. And when the Holy Spirit put these words on my heart, I was truly humbled.  It was a turning point for me and a whole new way of looking at me and others.  It meant that my focus was to be on me first, rather than on someone else.  I needed to pay attention, look, and listen to my own thoughts, feelings, and behavior, just like Micah 1:1-3 was teaching me to do, before addressing issues with another.  To this day, I am challenged to be responsible and honest about me.

Humility is the character, reflection, and Spirit of God, and it is that one word that began to change me and continues to change me.  Humility is the one word impetus for the clutter healing curriculum.  We are healed and freed when we are open to being humbled. Humility is God.

What is a Deceivement?

Deceivement = Ensnare

Deceivement = Snare

Deceivement = Misled

Deceivement = Lies

 Remember how our clutter is directly related to what we think, and therefore, what we believe?

This week our SW is to think on the following scenario:

Consider the different reflexes that our body automatically makes.  They are the involuntary ones that we have no control over.  An example is the “knee jerk” reflex which is an automatic involuntary reaction to the tap of a hammer to our knee.  When we act by reacting, we are just like that “knee jerk” reflex.  We are reacting automatically without voluntarily thinking.  It is an example of walking in our flesh.  When we act by responding, we are consciously and voluntarily slowing down to think first and then act. It is an example of walking in the Spirit.

This week, think about that one word that stands out as being reactive in you.  Here are some examples of what is often shared: anger, rage, aggravation, yelling, silence, hurt, intimidation, fear, sarcasm, pride, criticalness, judgmental, disobedient, defensiveness, and unkindness.  Then ask God to help to you to become more attentive to being humble and more accountable to responding with humility.

Next week we will delve more into the clutter of addictions.