"If it bothers you, it isn't from you"

When bad things happen to us, it is really hard to handle, isn’t it? Why do bad things happen to us? Is God trying to teach us something? I have so many questions that come into my mind when thinking about this stuff, and these are just a few of them.
                In Matthew 7:24-27, Jesus tells us that the storm comes to the foolish and the wise- those who listen to Him and those who do not. The “storm” is all those bad things that happen to us: circumstances, people saying things, doing things, sicknesses, injuries, death, etc. They come for everyone, regardless of whether the person is “good or bad.” But to my point, how we handle our circumstances is extremely important. I’m not trying to tell you to pretend that everything is perfect and fake that you’re happy. That is a terrible way to live. What I hope to do for you today is help you stop pretending and stop faking how you really feel to please people by helping you to have a right perspective.
                I heard someone say today, “If it bothers you, it’s not from you.” Wow. That is some truth right there. Instantly, I found myself reflecting on some previous events that I had been bothered by and how it was really hard to get passed what people had said or done to me. I remembered struggling with thoughts for hours one particular day as I could not shake free. I felt condemned that I knew I was wrong to be offended, that I should be better than to let this affect me so much, but I could not get my mind right. Oh how I wish I had heard this simple truth that day… It was hard because the longer I stayed upset, the more it upset me that I couldn’t let it go.
                So what does this saying mean? If something happens to you, whether someone says or does something to you, or if something bad just happens, it’s normal for you to be bothered. Being bothered by something is not wrong or bad, but staying bothered is. What we need to realize is that the things that bother us are not coming from inside us, but are coming from outside. When we are bothered, it is because we don’t like what is happening to us, and therefore are allowing something on the outside to affect our inside- soul. This is wrong because we are letting something matter more than the Cross. When Jesus died on the Cross, He justified us, He set us free, and He made us new. And when we have faith in Him, He calls us Holy, Righteous, blameless, above reproach, and loved.
                God builds us up into who He created us to be, while the enemy tears us down through lies and deception to get us to believe we are less than what God says we are. I think most of us have learned this, like had a few weeks ago, but applying it was truly difficult and I struggled to get my mind right. Here is where this saying would have helped me, because what it means is that things bother us because they are negative. Allowing them to linger can cause us to feel even worse, as I did when I could get free. But what I wasn’t realizing at the time was the thing that bothered me was not from me or God. God will never initiate negative things to motivate you. He will use and work all things for good, but there is a huge difference between initiating the whole thing and turning things around.
                What I am hoping you get from this blog today is, “If something is bothering you, it is not from God, nor is it from you. It’s from the enemy- satan.” I want to encourage you to simply slow down when circumstances are overwhelming and realize that God loves you. You don’t need to battle the lies. You simply need to realize that the lies aren’t from God or you, and that they are irrelevant. The enemy has nothing to offer, but to lie and deceive. The truth is we don’t even need to fight it, trying to get free. We just need to recognize it is not of the Kingdom of God and doesn’t matter. ​

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