Freeze! Put Down Your Conclusion

In any given time period, there are a number of unfortunate things that happen to us. It could be something as ‘small’ as tripping, burning your tongue with hot coffee, missing your bus and getting late for work, getting yelled at by the boss, or getting into a fender bender because some driver did something silly on the road. Sometimes the situations are more serious like getting fired or laid off from work, not getting that job you interviewed for, getting bad news from the doctor, etc.

How we respond to the unfavourable things that happen to us is very much linked to the conclusions we have pre-drawn for ourselves. The problem (and benefit) of conclusions is this: if you have a conclusion drawn up, you will channel everything you see or experience through that lens. You will bank everything that supports your conclusion and dismiss anything that doesn’t.

I have heard of people who believe that having a black cat cross their path is a bad omen. So to this person, anything wrong that happens that day will be ‘proof‘ that indeed, a black cat is a bad omen. If this person got a ketchup stain on their crisp white shirt right before their important presentation, they wouldn’t chalk it up to clumsiness or carelessness, but rather they would see it as bad luck that the black cat brought their way. This person would likely overlook all the good things that happen to them that day – like the  mere fact that they are alive and in good health.

There are also some people who are convinced that God doesn’t love them or care about their lives. They believe that they are unlucky and nothing ever goes their way. And so for them, not getting the job they interviewed for becomes yet another piece of data that they will stack up to prove to themselves, and to others, that indeed, nothing good ever happens to them.

But here is the power of good conclusions: if you purpose to believe what the Bible says, i.e.

• that God loves you with an everlasting love (Jeremiah 31:3),
• that He will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6),
• that He has great plans to prosper you and to give you a hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11),
• that He will withhold no good thing from those who love Him and walk uprightly (Psalms 84:11)

…if you determine to walk around with these types of positive conclusions, this is what will likely happen:

In addition to praising God for all the positives in your day, you will find reasons to still worship Him through the negatives. You will thank God that the coffee that burned your tongue wasn’t hotter and didn’t do more damage. The bus you miss becomes an opportunity to spend extra time with God before you get to your busy office. A yelling boss becomes an intercessory ‘project’ where you will take it upon yourself to pray for him/her to have a change of heart and to know God’s love and peace. That fender bender on the highway becomes a reason to thank God for sparing your life because the accident could very well have been much worse. You will worship God for that job you didn’t get because it can only mean that He has something even more awesome in store for you. You will start to see the horrendous trial you are going through as an exciting backdrop against which your God will flex His muscles and show you and the world His might and His ability to rescue you.

I have been on both sides of this conclusion coin. Before 2013, trials and hardships meant that God didn’t care about me and this made me angry and depressed. And if I prayed and the situation wasn’t resolved in my timing, I would abandon this “unloving God” and go my own way because what benefit was He to me anyway if He couldn’t make my situation better?

But now, even though I am facing much the same trials and hardships as i did pre-2013, my countenance and demeanor are drastically different. The joy of the Lord rarely leaves me. Why? Because I decided to change my narrative. I chose to believe the truths of God’s word – no matter what my circumstances told me. I chose to count my blessings daily and to literally name them one by one. I chose to have a different mind-set; a different conclusion. And as a result I now experience better emotional, mental and spiritual health. Now don’t get me wrong, I have my moments where I lose sight of the truth and focus on the negatives in my life – I am human after all :). In these moments I throw myself a no-expenses-spared pity party and cry bucketfuls to my heart’s content. But by God’s grace, that phase doesn’t last too long and I am able to quickly get back to the business of focusing on the unseen.

Our conclusions can be detrimental weapons we use against ourselves; or they can be instruments that cause us to have grateful, faithful, committed and trusting hearts towards our loving Heavenly Father.

So what lens are you looking at life through today? As you go about your day, what conclusion are you allowing your experiences to support? Is your conclusion building up your faith and giving you opportunities to praise God? Or is it “proving” to you how “unlucky” and “unloved” by God you are?

Destroy the wrong conclusions. Free your mind. Free your heart. Free your emotions. Conclude that God is FOR you, not against you. Then take this lens and look out for God throughout your day. It will surprise you how present and involved He is, and indeed has always been – but you were dismissive and didn’t see it because you were too busy focusing on the negatives.

1 Thessalonians 5:18: Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, forgive me for the times I have been too quick to focus on the negatives and too blind to see all the wonderful blessings you daily bring my way. Father you have promised me daily bread. So help me to live by faith; one day at a time. Open my eyes to see your presence in my life. Create in me a clean heart and renew a right spirit within me. Reconcile me back to You. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.