What’s your mindset when God says ‘No?’

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Last week at South Side we began a new series entitled “Mindset” where we are talking about mental health as well as how God can help us win on the battlefield of the mind. Our personal mindset, and the way we think impacts everything in life! It impacts our daily experience. It impacts how we interact with others. It impacts our marriage, friendships, family, coworkers, and our children. It impacts our relationship with God. It impacts how we determine our priorities. It impacts how we deal with struggles, stress, and social interactions.

The battlefield of the mind is where everything begins and ends. You may or may not know, but currently we have a huge mental health crisis in America. As we shared last week, “1 in 5 US adults suffer from mental illness in our country” according to the National Alliance on Mental illness. While many may not suffer from a specific mental illness, we all have room to improve our mindset by transforming the way we think.

As we develop our personal mindset, we come to learn that there is a difference between reacting and responding. It takes discipline to learn how to respond instead of just reacting, as well as years of practice. A reaction is usually emotional without taking much thought, and a response is a calculated way to deal with what has impacted us on some level. Most of us have learned to react instead of respond. Let’s be honest, we often get upset when things don’t go our way, or how we had planned. We get angry when others hurt us and often lash out without taking much thought about a wise response. It’s often easy to get emotional, angry, stressed, or troubled when life doesn’t go the way we want it to. As Americans, we are often so focused on what we don’t have that we can’t enjoy what we do have! We need to acknowledge that changing our mindset when things don’t go our way takes a lot of work. We cannot change what we don’t acknowledge.

In the book of 1 Samuel in chapter 1 we learn of a woman who simply wanted to become a mother. However, no matter how much she prayed she remained barren. We learn that her name was Hannah, and she was mentally and emotionally struggling. Have you ever hoped for something that didn’t happen in life? Often when this occurs, we experience sadness, depression, and deep sorrow. We learn that not only was not being barren a matter of personal grief, but it also opened her up to harassment and harsh judgment in her home and in her community. On top of that a woman named Peninnah who was also married to Elkanah used Hannah’s infertility to constantly poke at her. You see Peninnah had already had children with Elkanah. We read that just when you think Hannah’s life couldn’t get harder in chapter one her husband Elkanah gets frustrated because he feels that Hannah believed his provision wasn’t good enough for her. Elkanah focuses on his feelings and misses Hannah’s feelings of emotional distress. To top it all off, later the Priest Eli accuses Hannah of drunkenness when she is praying and crying out to God for a child. This is a clear picture of the old saying “When it rains it pours!”

You may wonder so what happens next? How does the story end? As Paul Harvey would say “and now for the rest of the story.” Just kidding because the rest of the story will come this Sunday at South Side when I share our message about “how to have the right mindset when God says no.”

Our onsite worship starts at 10:15, and our Children’s Ministry offers children’s classes for all ages. We are continuing to practice social distancing at our services. If you are unable to attend our online services will be available at 3 on Facebook and our website. If you would like to give generously just text the word “help” to: 84321 and follow the simple instructions. We would love to have you and your family worship with us! For more information visit us on our website at: www.southsidewch.com or on Facebook.

In Christ,

Barry Pettit

Lead Pastor

South Side Church of Christ

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By Barry Pettit

The Trumpet Sounds

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