The Trigger

Do you have a trigger? Something that sets you off or brings a memory to mind? We all have them I think. What makes a trigger? How did it form? The answer is often buried deep within.

I have a friend whose trigger is a particular song. It reminds him of a sad event. Whenever he hears the song he turns it off, trying to suppress the bad memories.

My brother's step son has PTSD from Iraq. He saw too many bad things there. Sometimes he gets angry when those memories of war come rushing back - triggered by "something". A loud noise perhaps, some thunder, or a car backfiring.

I saw a tattoo this past weekend that was a trigger for me. I knew the tattoo from a youth group kid who had it. When I saw it I immediately thought of my young friend. She took her life a few years ago. The tattoo was a trigger for some sad memories.

But it also acted as a trigger for some good things as well. The memory of my friend reminded me how precious life is and how we need to watch out for one another. I reached out to two kids as a result of that tattoo reminder. They both know that I am thinking of them and prayer for them.

After Jesus was crucified, do you think Peter got "triggered" every time he heard a rooster crow. I think yes.

A friend's illness can be a trigger for us to pray more. A speeding ticket or an accident can trigger more attentive driving habits. The sight of a cop car can trigger us taking our foot off the gas.

Sometimes it's a smell or a taste. We hear that song that shakes us like my friend.

Is Jesus a trigger for you? Does reading His Word trigger emotions in you? Better behavior? Repentance?

The reality of Christ is the biggest trigger of all. When Jesus finally becomes real in your life, it triggers a whole series of events. Repentance, a humbling of our hearts, a servant attitude gtrows and we think about ourselves less and less.

That, my friends, is the beginning of things. The beginning of a new life, in Christ. We begin to see crosses everywhere. We begin speaking in Bible verses in our daily conversations. And we begin to love more unconditionally.

When we think of Jesus, that should trigger a desire in us to bow down and worship. To offer prayers of thanks for everything He has done. He died once for all . . . and all who believe will never taste of death. His promises draw us to our knees.

18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland." - Isaiah 43:18-19