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Rats
are found in almost any place inhabited by man, they
spread disease, cause great damage, and multiply very
quickly. By my definition a RAT is a Run Away Thought.
Webster says a rat by slang definition #4 is a disloyal
person who abandons his party or association, especially
in times of trouble. A more fitting definition in our
case would be a thought that abandons our normal thought
process especially in times of trouble.
The
best way to stop a RAT is to SHOOT it. This has a certain
stopping effect on the RAT.
S-Soul
Ask the questions of Psalm 42:11. You know you are going
to praise God again, so why are you so downcast? Put
your hope in God, certainly not in your circumstances.
Ps. 42:11 “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why
so disturbed within me? Put your home in God, for I
will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.”
H-
Help Where does your help come from? Your hope does
not come from recycled fears, or thoughts running around
your mind at 700 cycles per second looking for every
possible option of how the situation will go wrong.
Your help has always come from God.
Is.
41:10 “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not
be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you
and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right
hand.”
Phil.
1:19 “For I know that through your prayers and
the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has
happened to me will turn out for my deliverance.”
OO-
Rejoice Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again:
Rejoice! Rejoice means to be joyful by the act of recall
or to recount what God has done in your life. What is
it that he has done?
Phil.
4:4-7 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say
it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to
all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. And the peace of God,
which transcends all understanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Rejoicing
allows us to have a gentle spirit. It is hard to be
gentle when you have a RAT around, so the lack of gentleness
is a good indicator you are entertaining a RAT and where
there is one there are liable to be several in a pack!
T-
Trust There is only one who will not fail you, only
one who is completely trustworthy. If you place your
trust in anything or person apart from Christ, even
in yourself, these things are not faultless and will
someday fail you.
Ps.
9:10 “Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, LORD, have never forsaken those who seek you.”
2
Tim. 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of
timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
While
speaking at a retreat in Lake Tahoe, Ca., a young man
told me that he not only had RATS, but he kept some
of them in his attic (mind) as pets. He said that at
times he would take them out and play with them. I will
not go into too much more detail but I think you can
see where I am headed. Can you identify your pet rats
(ie... special concerns, “just wanted to consider
this”, “well what if…?”) and
apply this lesson to them?
Written
by Ron Terpstra
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