When I’m under pressure, what I truly am–not necessarily what I advertise to be–comes out.<\/p>\n
I discover this almost every day. This morning I went to a quarry to pick out rocks for my garden. My thumb got pinched by a rock, and something came out. It wasn’t flowery.\u00a0Last night I fell asleep soundly and someone came in an turned on a bright light. Once again something came out, and let’s just say it wasn’t affirming.<\/p>\n
My default response to stress is generally anger and fear. These two vices take turns responding under pressure, and often they are directly linked. This is the human problem. What am I going to do about it? I would prefer to live a life of peace, joy, and love under pressure. I cannot attain those virtues by exerting will power. I’ve tried and failed. I’m doomed unless I intentionally decide to transform my mind. This process of spiritual transformation is what Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount. It is what Paul discusses in Romans 8 and 12.\u00a0Jesus said that the mark of a true disciple is love. In other words, when you squeeze a disciple, love comes out. The first step in becoming a disciple is a desire to desire to live my life like Jesus would. Let’s express this desire, and ask God to change our character to look like one who truly follows Him.<\/p>\n
My Father,<\/em><\/p>\n I desire to become a true disciple, one who reacts out of love naturally and sincerely, even under pressure. Forgive me for the many times I fail. Renew my mind through your Word. Teach me how to become a follower who willingly and routinely obeys your ways.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Amen.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" When I’m under pressure, what I truly am–not necessarily what I advertise to be–comes out. I discover this almost every day. This morning I went to a quarry to pick out rocks for my garden. My thumb got pinched by a rock, and something came out. It wasn’t flowery.\u00a0Last night I fell asleep soundly and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":478,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[393,1741,396,398,397,395,400,394,401,399],"class_list":["post-1265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-discipleship","tag-love","tag-paul","tag-romans-12","tag-romans-8","tag-sermon-on-the-mount","tag-sincere","tag-spiritual-transformation","tag-transformed-mind","tag-true-disciple"],"yoast_head":"\n