My dogs have an annoying habit.  If they don't see me open the front door, they bark because they assume that someone is coming in from outside.  No matter how many times I have tried to patiently explain to them that though the sound of an opening door is the same, there is a difference between someone coming in and someone going out, they just don't get it.

I wonder how often I do this in my life.  I assume that my problems are caused by other people or outside forces , but they really come from within. It occurs to me that when I truly understand who I am in Christ and accept that I am loved unconditionally by God because of Christ's sacrifice, the outside forces can no longer hurt me. Other people's problems belong to them and cannot affect me because my first response will be to quietly seek my Father's wisdom and reassurance not that of men. Jesus never went to people for advice....only to His Father in Heaven. Since we are told in the bible to emulate Christ, should we not do likewise?

From this perspective I come to understand that virtually ALL of my problems resonate from within, for it is a heart change and a renewing of the mind that I need in order to effectively cope with everything that life (and other people) throw at me.

This is not to say that we should never seek counsel from others. We are told in the bible to "encourage one another daily." But as Christians, our daily exhortations require that we point each other to the Cross and God's word...not to become heros to one another. Only in this way can we be certain that we never inadvertently give out harmful advice or cause a problem to become bigger than it needs to be.

So this is my new goal. To become so secure in Christ that I am no longer hurt or affected by others and to gain the ability to consistently go to God for His reassurance. This is a lofty goal and one that I probably will not completely achieve because the flesh is a difficult thing to crucify. But if we are to live by the spirit, we must die daily to self. Some days my self goes down kicking an screaming, others not so much. I am convinced, however, that there will be joy in the journey.

Getting back to my dogs, I am happy to report that I finally solved the problem by announcing BEFORE I open the door "it's just me!".  But this morning I forgot and they barked at me. Well, it made a good idea for a blog post.