All-day long my mind is being influenced by external pressures and media. As I walk through life these external influences affect my decision-making and interactions with others (they shouldn’t but they do). I fail, I mess up, and I don’t treat others with love & respect. I cannot blame the external influence on my failures or treatment of others – no, it’s on me. I need to be responsible for my own behavior, no excuses, no blame-shifting.
The Bible has some help for me, consider the following verses:
Romans 12:2 (NLT)
Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
Ephesians 6:12 (NLT)
For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.
When I realize that I am being influenced by the external in a negative way, the best thing I can do is to stop/pause my life (if even for a moment), take a deep breath, and re-focus on the truth. The truth many times can be a Bible verse or even the Character of God that needs to continue to develop in me.
Talk It Out:
- What are your “Go-To” Bible verses? The verses that you have memorized and can go to in times of stress. I have several Bible verse images and I would love to share them with you. Send me an email requesting some of my favorite GO-TO Bible verses.
- Tell a Friend. This is so critical; who are some of the godly friends in your life that you can talk to about your life issues and external pressures? We should all have a few close friends that we can go to and talk about the deep stuff in our life. These friends need to have our permission for them to be brutally honest with us – and this is key. If our friends cannot be honest with us we might not get the clarity we need in our time of stress.
- List it out. What is your stress about right now? Start writing them down in a journal and praying about them. In fact, combine all three, steps and see how God will bring clarity to the confusion of life through His Word, His People, and the Thoughts He brings into your Mind.
