On November 28th, I decided to update the look and feel of this blog. It was tired-sounding and tired-looking, and I was tired of looking at it. So I clicked what I thought to be the right button and quickly discovered that it was the wrong button. I could see the website just as plain as day; I just couldn’t access the internal workings, which kept me from posting, updating, communicating through the blog, and connecting with the many friends I’ve made through this site. The site was literally paralyzed by one simple click. Moving forward was not an option.
During the month of December, I kept thinking: I need to fix that problem, but I don’t know what to do…so I’ll do nothing until I know exactly what to do.
Allow me to insert here that the word I selected as my theme for this year is DELIBERATE—choosing to be intentional about what goes into my mind and my heart so that I can be intentional in what I think about, what I do, how I build my relationships both socially and professionally, and what the resulting DELIBERATE actions, thoughts, and words will be!
That said, I realized yesterday that I was already—only three days into the new year—being anything but deliberate about how I was facing the internal error with this website. So, do you know what I did? I checked the online manual for any assistance it might provide. [Eh…no…I didn’t think to do that earlier. I was too busy trying to “solve” it on my own or too busy ignoring the problem and procrastinating the “work” it would take to fix it.]
On the FAQs (frequently asked questions) page, there was a one-step solution to my erroneous click—one simple step. And as you can see, it worked!
Sadly, this is all too often exactly what happens in my spiritual life. I make an error—i.e., I sin against a holy God—and it paralyzes me. I think: I need to take care of this the right way, so I’ll take time to do that later today…or tomorrow…or whenever it is convenient for me.
Before long, my spiritual life is “paralyzed”—I’m unable to make forward progress, and I can try every possible human “solution” without a resolution to my “internal error.”
But when I stop to read the manual, written by my Creator to guide me through (not around) the trials that come, I find a simple one-step solution that releases me from the paralyzing power of my problems—one simple step: “Follow me.” [Read: John 21:15-22.] Why didn’t I just open this spiritual manual in the first place? Pride, procrastination, and wrong priorities too often keep me from the forward momentum He intends for me to maintain. My amazing God has the answers, but it’s even better than that: He walks me through them and leads the way, freeing me from the paralysis caused by fear, backward glances, and choices that were not intentional in their purpose. Then, and only then, am I free to move forward, take heaven-ordered risks, and enjoy a fully functioning life of God’s best for this year, this day—this moment.
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Thanks for taking time to read “The Paralyzing Power of an Internal Error.”
Have you chosen your theme or theme word for 2014 yet? I’d love for you
to share it in the comments below!
Well, I wondered about you, but assumed you were taking some time off from blogging. And you sound like me. I consult the instruction manual as a last resort. My word for last year was intentional, but I was anything but intentional. This year (although I haven’t posted it) my word is compassion.
Blessings and Happy New Year!
Joan, you are such a gem. Thank you for taking time to share those thoughts. I love your choice of the word compassion for this year! That seems to genuinely suit your sweet character. Stay in the Word and follow His example of compassion, and you can’t go wrong!