5:30am: Sitting in the airport ready to fly to Melbourne Australia for a business trip and rather than scrolling social media I decided I’d read the word. I was reading through Luke 15, the parable of the lost son this passage caught my attention. I had never noticed this before.
“I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.” Luke 15:18-20
“I will set out and go back to my father and say to him:”
What I saw for the first time was something I see myself doing often and I would guess I’m not alone in this …
We imagine a situation or conversation and play it over in our mind again and again rehearse what we are going to say and what “they” are going to say till we have it down pat, finally we take action.
And how often, as it is in this parable and almost always in my own experience, does the situation or the conversation never play out the way we imagined and rehearsed it?
We tend to go to worst case scenario rather than an optimistic point of view? Is it fear of disappointment? Fear of rejection?
In the parable, the son instead of being treated as a servant as he imagined, he was welcomed, embraced and restored back into the position of son not of servant. Things turned out so much better than he rehearsed in his mind. In fact he didn’t even get an opportunity to give his pre-rehearsed speech!
Is it time to stop all the dress rehearsals in our head and just take action knowing that God has our back?
“Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.” Psalm 5:12
As a Christian we should be able to approach life with a victory mindset. For we are told in scripture that we are “… we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us”. It’s not just about positive thinking, it’s knowing who we are in Christ and what that gives us access to.
“… if God is for us, who can be against us?” Rom 8:31
At the very least if we are going to use our imagination to rehearse, let’s go to the positive and believe the Word, that God is in our corner and has got our backs.
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Amanda Hendry works in finance management, trains in the sport of powerlifting and strongman and spends her free time volunteering at her church and in local organizations. Her blog is a place where she is open, honest and takes her thoughts and brings them to life.
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