LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF OUR FAITH, WHO FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM ENDURED THE CROSS, SCORNING ITS SHAME, AND SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD.  CONSIDER HIM WHO ENDURED SUCH OPPOSITION FROM SINFUL MEN, SO THAT YOU WILL NOT GROW WEARY AND LOSE HEART
(Hebrews 12:2-3).

I take a two-mile walk, every day, in the mountains where I live.  During the spring, the snow melts and sometimes there is a lot of mud on this dirt road.  One day, I came to a patch of mud that stretched across the whole width of the road.  I stopped short and stared at it in disgust.  There was no way around it.  I did not feel like trudging through the mud and getting my shoes, my pants, and my little white dog soiled with it, but I wanted to see the beautiful view of the mountains on the other side. Suddenly God’s Spirit nudged me, “Child, sometimes you have to walk through the mud to get to the other side, where you can get a better view. You have to ENDURE during unpleasant circumstances, so you may gain a better perspective.”  

Are you facing unpleasant circumstances, at the moment? Do these bring you in touch with dreadful circumstances of the past—childhood abuse and neglect? I encourage you to walk through the mud.  Regard your present circumstances with acceptance and tolerance. Remain firm under your current suffering, without yielding to despair and defeat. Face the childhood abuse.  Look the offenses in the eye.  Confront the mistreatment.  Do not be afraid.  If you stay on this side, you are losing out on the best view—God’s Perspective.  Your Perfect Father wants to accomplish many things in your life, but these are all on the other side of the mud.

You might say that you do not want to walk through the mud, because it will contaminate, corrupt, and stain you.  This is a lie from the father-of-lies.  The pain of the abuse and neglect is already living in your heart, contaminating your soul.  Remember, it is not the circumstances that are hurting you, but your CONCLUSIONS—what you came to believe about yourself, others, and God, as a result of the circumstances. And these CONCLUSIONS live in your MIND, contaminating your spirit and the view of your present circumstances.

Learn to endure. EMBRACE these conclusions, EXPOSE them to the Lord Jesus, and ask Him for His Perspective. His Perspective will EXCHANGE you for a new person.

What kind of “mud” do you have in your life? What has been hindering you from walking through the mud to a great new start?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, let me take Your hand. Walk with me through the mud that has been contaminating my mind, my heart, and my life for so many years. Bring me to a new place, where I may see a different view—Your Perspective. Then, I will be a new person.