Preening the Beast

2 Reasons Our Minds Wander to Painful Memories

The Hubs is one of those blessed individuals that enjoys uncommonly good health. Even when he’s sick, he insists on working out as he’s convinced it will help him get well. And, much to my astonishment, he’s usually right! So, when red, irritated blotches began to show up on his hands and back, it was a bit of a surprise and we thought it would pass quickly.

Here I am, once again, mulling over a current pain until I’ve injured my heart. I may lay it at the Lord’s feet, but within the blink of an eye, there it is, its full weight in my hands as I preen the beast with a fine-toothed comb. What makes it continually come back to mind and heart? I’ve found two major barriers that keep my mind wandering back to handling the beast of pain. #ChristianBlog

They were extremely itchy and although he saw doctors, had a biopsy and tried all kinds of oils and creams, the spots persisted for more than six months before the Lord showed him it was a peanut allergy.

In the meantime, they were a constant source of irritation, even waking him in the night and causing intense frustration. When they were particularly bad, he would itch to the point of causing himself an injury without even realizing. It became a routine for me to gently remind him not to scratch – a reminder he appreciated, I might add.

One morning, I offhandedly reminded him and added, “You’ll never heal if you keep picking at it.”

Immediately, I felt a conviction in my heart from the Holy Spirit.

When life, especially a painful interpersonal situation is occurring in my life, I too can tend to “pick at it.” I run it over and over in my mind, imagining what I would/should/could say and reliving the pain repeatedly. And as the firm hand of conviction laid upon my shoulder, I could hear the Lord saying to me, “You’ll never heal if you keep picking at it.”

Here I am, once again, mulling over a current pain until I’ve injured my heart. I may lay it at the Lord’s feet, but within the blink of an eye, there it is, its full weight in my hands as I preen the beast with a fine-toothed comb. What makes it continually come back to mind and heart? I’ve found two major barriers that keep my mind wandering back to handling the beast of pain. “LifeQuotes

Now, I know and am well practiced at leaving the past behind and not reliving it. For heaven’s sake! – I preach on how to move forward from the past! And yet, here I am, mulling over a current pain until I’ve injured my heart once again. I may lay it at the Lord’s feet momentarily, but within the blink of an eye, there it is, its full weight in my hands as I preen the beast with a fine-toothed comb.

What makes it continually come back to mind and heart? Why am I unable to let it stay in the hands of the only One who can do anything about it?

I’ve found two major barriers that keep my mind wandering back (and back again) to handling the beast of pain:

1.       The most foundational reason that I can’t control my mind is this: I haven’t gotten God’s perspective on my circumstance. Knowing how God sees my situation is the ultimate key to steadying my heart. With God’s perspective, I can have more compassion toward those who hurt me, I can have more compassion for myself, I can lay my heart bare before Him and deal with any wrong attitudes and actions in myself. Once I have His perspective, I must stand on it firmly. It does no good to get God’s perspective if we are going to allow the enemy to steal away our compassion for those involved or to accuse us with lies or fears about our Father’s heart toward us. Our God is with us and wants our best. He is for us!

2.       The second barrier to controlling my thoughts is my unwillingness to fight. This “fighting” isn’t the kind of fighting the world often thinks of, of course. We don’t fight against flesh and blood, but we do fight with the armor of God firmly affixed and in the manner our Commander in Chief instructs. Our biggest weapon in always going to be God’s Truth. The Word of God tells us what to believe and when we choose to stand on that through the tactical strategies of worship, prayer and declarations, we can win the battle against that beast.

Knowing these two barriers to controlling my thoughts and resolving them won’t mean I am never tempted to stroke the beast of pain, but it gives me a place to run when tempted. When we take the time to see the way the Lord sees and we open our mouths with His words, we are equipped to cut off the power of the pain that tries to influence us.

“We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…” 2 Corinthians 10:5 

To read more about, “How to Become Holier – it’s probably not what you think,” click HERE!