ONLY OUR REACTIONS CAN HURT US Nothing can hurt us except our reactions. This is a most important fact to grasp. The Bible says in Romans 8:28: “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to his purpose.” This means that it makes no difference what happens if we really believe that everything God allows in our lives is working for our good. In that case, whatever happens make a contribution to our lives. There is a sense in which we have no enemies. A situation is not our enemy. A situation is not our enemy. A problem or difficulty is not an enemy. No, all of theses things work together for our good. All are our friends—provided that we are thankful and have the right reaction to them. If our reaction to what happens is not right, then, of course our reaction will hurt us. I stood by the bedside of a woman who had had 25 operations. In spite of all the medical science had tried to do for her, she was wasting away. I said to her very kindly, “You surely have had more than your share of suffering. I don’t know how I might react in your circumstance, but the truth is that these operations have not hurt you. Even if you had to undergo many more, they still would not hurt you.” She looked up at me in amazement and said, “What do you mean, they couldn’t hurt me?” I answered, “The surgery in itself will not hurt you, but your reaction to your physical problem may hurt you. If you react with bitterness, that bitterness will harm you.” She replied, “Yes, I know what you mean. I know what you mean, now.” Our reactions must be right. The situation that God allows does not hurt us. Instead, it will help us if our reactions to it are mature and spiritual and proper. Do you think Helen Keller was hurt because she was blind? Was Beethoven hurt because he was deaf? Was Thomas Edison hurt because he had only three months of schooling? Was Job, the Old Testament patriach, hurt because he lost what he had? Was Abraham Lincoln hurt because he was raised in poverty? Was Paul the apostle hurt because he had a thorn in his flesh? Through it he learned more about the grace of God. The thorn in his flesh was a blessing to him. Was John the apostle hurt when he was exiled to the Island of Patmos because of his faith? No, that did not hurt him. He returned with the Book of the Revelation in his hands. No one can hurt a man like that! No matter what happens to him, he embraces it and says, “God is using this to make me a better person, so I am grateful to Him!” Because his reactions are right he is helped not hurt. On the other hand, if our reactions are wrong – if we react with resentment—that resentment will ruin us. If we react with bitterness, that bitterness will blight us. If we react with self-pity, that self-pity will defeat us. If we react with anger and hatred, they may result in ulcers or other body ills. How do we react to our home problems? Some have very serious problems. How have we reacted to difficulties? To temptations? What our reactions have been will determine if we have been hurt. Equally important to this subject is the fact that we are responsible for all our reactions. Our tendency is to say, “The other person’s actions were so wrong that we cannot be blamed for our reactions.” It must be admitted that others are guilty of wrong actions, but the Bible says that we are responsible for our wrong reactions. In writing to the Thessalonians Paul said, “See that none render evil for evil” (I Thess 5:15). In that little word “see” lies our responsibility. The Lord says in effect, “Take it upon yourself to be responsible for your reactions; make sure that you don’t react the way other people act toward you.” This is one of your greatest problems. We do not want to take responsibility. We know that our reactions have been wrong and that they reveal what we really are. In our hearts we secretly say, “Well, I wish I had not acted that way: and I wish I had not spoken that way. I am sorry about these things.” But we do not want to take responsibility that God will be able to do anything for us. Psychologists say that anything we are able to envision we are able to envision we are able to accomplish. For instance, if a businessman says, “I want to accomplish certain goal in business” and he is able to sit down and think it through and focus his mind on it—this very fact means that he is able to accomplish it. If he were not able to accomplish it, he would not be able to set the goal in the first place. This is spiritually true also. If we are able to see something that is wrong about ourselves, we are able to do something about it. We would never be able to recognize the need if we were not able to do something about it.
Posted on: Tue, 26 Aug 2014 07:36:52 +0000
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