My wife used to get up at 4:00 AM to go Black Friday shopping in Milwaukee. She NEVER gets up that early. So why did she? She wanted to get the best deals, save the most money and to do that she had to get there before everyone else.
This year she did something different. She slept in. She didn't go Black Friday shopping at all, unless you count going to the deli for some potato salad as "Black Friday shopping." She no longer cares. "It's not worth it," she says and she chose not to participate.
We all do strange things for various reasons then, one day, we stop doing them and ask ourselves why we ever did them in the first place.
I did that with my Corvette several years ago. I had purchased the car just before becoming a Christian. Then, after I became a follower of Christ, I examined my ways and asked myself, "What am I doing with this car?"
A kind of maturity comes in our decision making the older we get. Or, the more experienced we get. LOL! My wife got burned out on the crowds and the traffic so she stopped shopping the day after Thanksgiving. Millions of people are still into that sort of thing but my wife is not one of them. She has moved on.
For me and for many other Christians, Jesus has re-prioritized our lives. What once was important to us no longer is.
The Apostle Paul sent a letter to the church in Philippi. They were struggling with their new-found identity in Christ. A demon possessed woman was causing problems for the church so Paul cast out the demon in the name of Jesus.
There's lots of stuff we'd like to change in our lives but we just can't seem to do it on our own. Sometimes we need help casting out OUR demons.
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God...” - Philippians 4:6
I'm building a tiny home and, as much as I'd like to be able to do things on my own, I am physically unable to lift walls weighing hundreds of pounds up onto the tiny home trailer all by myself. Alone, it's impossible. However . . .
"With God, ALL things are possible" - Matthew 19:26
As I read through the New Testament I am amazed at all of the things Jesus did. The innumerable people He healed, the demons He cast out of people . . . all amazing stories to read about.
At the end of THIS story there is a video by Lacey Sturm. I have seen her perform and have listened to her testimony in person of how God changed her priorities. One day she was ready to die, the next she was loving life. What caused THAT transformation in her life? It was the power of God's love and grace!
So when life gets crazy and the traffic in your brain becomes excessive, pray. Ask God to calm the storm inside. When you finally surrender your heart to Him and submit yourself to HIS ways, He will change you and cast out YOUR demons that are sucking the life out of your daily life. Make your requests known to God in prayer and your anxiety and panic and stress will all fade away. They did in MY life. They will in yours. Break free!
Lacey Sturm's Story
Breaking Free - Skillet (feat. Lacey Sturm)
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