The saying goes What do you do when you fall down, you pick yourself back up again. That makes sense and everything but what does it really mean to the person who has fallen down over and over again and has to keep picking up the pieces and trying to make sense of it all? What does the person do that has made mistakes, the same mistakes, over and over again and keeps taking laps around the same track? What do you do when you find yourself in the same situation that tried to claim your "life" before and you just don't know what to do? They say that God doesn't put you into a situation without a sufficient amount of willpower to overcome it but in the midst of the situation it sometimes doesn't feel like that is true because you are in the middle of a war between your mind and your flesh and unless you are prepared for the battle you will lose to your flesh everytime. I have done a lot of things in my past that have almost cost me everything I had but by the grace of God I have been spared the pain of losing it all on more than one occasion yet I still struggle with going back to the same old habits that caused me and the people I love so much pain and suffering. How does this happen and what can I do to prevent it from ever happening again? The first problem or obsticale that I have to overcome is to get past the guilt and negative feelings that are looming in my mind and body from the failure that has just occured. I keep going over and over the situation that I have put myself into again and it just depresses me and my conscience has kicked into overdrive and I feel like a worthless piece of crap because of the poor choices I have made that could be the undoing of all of the hard work that I have put into this process up until this point. I keep going over the consequences of my actions and the shame that I feel because I know what I have done and what I could lose if I don't make the right choices from now on. The only things that are going on in my mind are negative and it's hard to focus on anything but the situation that I am in no matter what is going on around me. Habits are funny things that only take a few days to form, especially if it is a habbit that you had for a long period of time before and you have just fallen back into it; it's like an old pair of jeans that fit just right and you don't want to take them off and put the new pair back on because they feel so good. No matter what period of time or length of time you spend in the old pair of jeans it's still hard to take them off and wear the new pair because it just doesn't feel the same. The first order of business is to get rid of the negative thoughts and put together a new plan of action, a routine that will be your new pair of jeans that you will just have to put in the effort to break in. It is going to take some time, maybe a couple of weeks before they start feeling better and easier to wear but it's just a matter of time before you don't even remember the old pair because the new ones fit just right for your new lifestyle. Once you have your plan of attack and your new routine that you have put together you have to set your mind on other things and stick to the plan. You need to set goals for yourself and keep focused on the goals of the day or the goals of the hour or the half hour, whatever you need to do to keep focused and get a sense of accomplishment to drown out the negative thoughts and to get some form of positive thoughts going in your mind. Keep setting goals for yourself, continue to work the new plan and don't let anything stop you from accomplishing your goals becuase once you slip one time it gets easier and easier to slip the second time and the third time and before you know it you are right back where you started. The road is long and hard and it takes a long time to repair the damage in your mind and in your life after the disaster strikes but you have to put it behind you and use the anger that you are feeling inside to drive you towards your new goals and you have to use whatever positive things you have in your life to focus your drive to create a better, healthier you for the people you have around you. You can do it, I can do it and we can do it together if we just believe that God has already seen our whole life and He knew that you were going to make the mistake that you made before you even made it and He forgave you anyway. Now it's just up to you not to keep making the same mistakes and to learn from the past so it doesn't repeat itself again.
One thing I have come to realize in my life is that the further along in my walk with God the shorter my leash is getting. Even though I slip and fall all the time still I don't fall as far away as I used to and it's getting easier to snap out of the rut that so easily entangles me. That's something that has really helped me especially lately because when I first became a Christian it was really hard for me to get back on the horse again when I fell off. I think that's one of the hardest things for me, because I am so hard on myself, to look at myself in the mirror again and believe that God loves me and He will give me the strength to pick myself up AGAIN and get back on the right path. After you make so many mistakes and pick yourself up again and again you just wonder if you have the strength to do it again and I can tell you wholeheartedly that you will always have the strength available to you through Jesus Christ, you just have to want to access it and believe that God is for you so who can be against you.
No matter what you have done in the past or in the present, how bad it is or how many times you have failed God loves you because you are His son or daughter. You are the object of His affection and it is His Good Pleasure to give you the Good things of the Kingdom. You just have to believe and obey His commands which are there for your own well being. He is the Good Shepherd and if you will just follow Him and Obey Him He will lead you to the clean refreshing streams where you can thrive. The only drawback is that you will have to go through the Valley to get there. Have faith that God loves you and will be with you through the valley. He won't leave you there, He is leading you to higher ground. Get ready to be Elevated!!!
God's blessings
Brandon
