If you find yourself bopping your brains out, you might want to look and see if there are any window panes in front of you.
I’m always happy to find something dumber than I am, so I really enjoyed watching wasps crash against window panes when I was a kid.
Somehow my sensitive young mind couldn’t grasp why these insects couldn’t see that the bottom half of the window was open. The front door stood open also, because it was hot outside.
And the wasp? “Crash! Crash! Crash!” Instead of flying away, he kept bopping against the part of the window that wasn’t open. He was persistent, I’ll give him that.
I also imagine he must have been knocked goofy after a couple of bangs against the window.
Sometimes I would even (carefully) try to help him by knocking him away from the window pane so that he could see more opportunities to escape. As often as not, though, he’d zip back to the same place.
“Bang, bang, bang.”
Maybe he didn’t really want out. He might have enjoyed bashing his brain against the window pane for all I know.
Big Migraine
About six paragraphs ago, I intimated that I was probably smarter than this insect but that’s probably wishful thinking. You see, I spend a lot of time banging my head against windows … or walls … or whatever.
Often the same barrier seems to frustrate me over and over. At times it’s a personal battle I’ve fought a hundred—no, a thousand times. Or it might be a person or situation that blocks my way.
And I hurl myself against them, or it, again and again. I think that if I just crash it harder it will give way. I can’t see the ‘window pane’ that’s blocking me, so I imagine that the answer is just beyond me. “Bang, bang, bang.”
And there I am, staggering around with a humongous migraine. What’s wrong with this picture?
What to do?
Stop –take a deep breath –put your mind on the Lord. (“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal.” Isaiah 26, NIV)). —Pray in the Spirit (“To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing…” Isa. 28:12, KJV).
Let the Lord calm you like a mama cuddling her baby close to her cheek. “I’ve kept my feet on the ground, I’ve cultivated a quiet heart. Like a baby content in its mother’s arms, my soul is a baby content. Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always! (Ps. 131: 2, 3, The Message)
Look at the Lord Jesus. Remember how powerful He is and how He is for you and wants to help you. The disciples got wide-eyed when Jesus stopped a howling storm. They must have thought of this Psalm:
“Out at sea you saw God in action,
saw his breathtaking ways with the ocean:
With a word he called up the wind—
an ocean storm, towering waves!
You shot high in the sky, then the bottom dropped out;
your hearts were stuck in your throats.
You were spun like a top, you reeled like a drunk,
you didn’t know which end was up.
Then you called out to God in your desperate condition;
he got you out in the nick of time.
He quieted the wind down to a whisper,
put a muzzle on all the big waves.
And you were so glad when the storm died down,
and he led you safely back to harbor.
So thank God for his marvelous love,
for his miracle mercy to the children he loves.
(Ps. 107, MSG)
Maybe it’s not a raging storm that’s stopping you, just a frustrating window pane. And you’re “bang, bang, banging” along, going nowhere.
Stop. Look. Listen (to Him).
He may be trying to show you a way out if you’ll be still, trust Him, and look.
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Hmmm …
“If someone else has abused you in the past, it’s okay to give them credit for fouling up your past, but do not give them permission to ruin your present and your future. Take control of your thoughts and your future.” Roger Lewis
Smile
“Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers.”
“People are funny; they want the front of the bus, middle of the road, and back of the church.” (Internet)