Defining Moments

In marriage, it's not the common every normal day things-are-going-your-way things that define your relationship, but when the troubles come.  Pastor Sundell used to say that you never knew what was in the teabag until you put it into boiling water.  I believe the same thing in marriage relationships:  you can really tell what's in you when the stress comes.

How are you under pressure?  Do you crumble and spew out ugliness when things aren't going your way?  When you are overwhelmed, what comes out?  Take a good hard look at how you handle disappointments, frustrations, and pressures, and see if that's the person God made you to be.  If it's not, look at how those moments define you and take concrete steps to adjust your response-ability level.

If your problem is that you get hurtful in your words, examine your heart.  The Bible tells us that it is out of the abundance of the heart that the mouth speaks.  Matthew 12.34; Luke 6.45.  If that's your problem, pray:  “Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”  (Psa 139:22-24 AMP)  Have the Lord change what you think in your very heart, and then when your heart is pure your words will be pure.  

If your problem is your anger, examine whether you have given your expectations and yielded your rights to the Lord.  If you have yielded all your rights to the Lord, then you cannot get angry when someone "violates" your "rights" because they are not your "rights" any more once you have given them to the Lord!

Challenge:  The next few days, see how you react when things don't go your way.  Remember, these are the moments that define who you are.  Make sure that when the hot water comes your way, what flows out of you is a reflection of the Lord inside of you!