Excerpt from “Revealed in Ephesians: The Mystery of Who I Am in Christ” by Briana Nei
When I imagine a tranquil pool, I think of the glassy, undisturbed surface that reflects everything around it. Contrast this with a stormy body of water raging from the elements blowing against it, with strong riptides pulling unsuspecting swimmers into imminent danger.
Once at the beach, there was a big storm coming up the coast. It wasn’t anywhere near us, yet, but the waves were getting bigger and bigger. I parked my children right in front of the life guard that day to be safe. My youngest, a toddler, took off running as fast as he could on his tripping toes down the beach. Putting one chubby foot in front of the other to keep from falling on his face, he made excellent time maneuvering around sand castles and towels.
Even though I was only gone a few seconds to grab him, in that fateful window of time, the life guard walked down the beach, away from his station, and my 8-year old son Ellis got sucked out to sea, just two dark, breaking waves from the shore line. Adults had lined up watching the developing emergency, as I grabbed a body board, attached the Velcro strap to my wrist and dove into the crashing waves to rescue him. We both tumbled around, but I reached him, after braving two very scary waves. Once back on the shore, we sat stunned at what had transpired.
Even though a storm of life can be far behind you, even years ago, its after-effects can pull you under into a dangerous situation. Self-pity and bitterness act as an internal storm that sucks the thanksgiving and the beauty out of life’s best moments. You may keep an internal hit list of everything you have been deprived of in your marriage, while coveting another woman’s life. You may feel self-pity every time you go to a wedding, just remembering how your wedding wasn’t as perfect. Self-pity will create a storm out of nowhere. It can cause you to overreact to a simple question, because you are reacting with all the pain from your past. Self-pity makes you a martyr, and it is never satisfied. It makes your spouse your enemy, even when he is doing nothing wrong. I know this battle very intimately, because God delivered me from a spirit of self-pity and showed me how I indulged thoughts and feelings of self-pity to the detriment of my marriage and our joy.
A tranquil spirit in a woman protects her from the internal forces pulling and pushing in her life. As a believer, unforgiveness, bitterness and self-pity can cause more storms in your marriage than actual everyday life. Ask the Lord Jesus to deliver you from self-pity and anything else that comes in to rob your personal tranquility.
Pray and ask the Lord to bring tranquility to your heart.
Do you have inner turmoil that is causing fights and quarrels? You cannot change this simply by just changing your behavior; you need an inner transformation that comes through forgiveness and agreeing with God’s plan for your life.
Have you submitted to the Lord’s plan for your marriage? Your life?
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