2nd Nature

If you’re anything like most of the population, you’re probably familar with having bad posture.

AND what it’s like constantly being nagged to fix it.

I too, am one of those people.

I’ve always wanted to have better posture. I know it’s good for my body, and my body is important it’s my only one and I want to take care of it. However, something I was not aware of until recently, is that posture is not only important to take care of physically, but also spiritually.

Your mind can have a bad posture.

As I’ve grown in my faith I’ve started to learn more about this. And, you guessed it, just like my back everyone was telling me I needed to change the posture of my mind, “fix your minds posture,” they’d say. But, I never knew what it meant.

I decided to ignore it, until God forced me to deal with it. He continually allowed Satan to put me into situations where I felt uncomfortable, sad and lonely. He wasn’t doing it to hurt me, but rather, to help me change my posture. I didn’t always see it like that though. I thought, “I’ve been faithful, why haven’t you given what you owe me?!”

My posture was crap. I looked at our sovereign, good God and got mad at Him for his unfaithfulness. Meanwhile, it wasn’t His unfaithfulness at all, it was my lack of faith. I walked through a season of hurting expecting to get better by complaining. That’s like going to a foot doctor for your bad back, rather than a chripractor.

Fixing your physical posture is a conscious effort. Everyday I have to tell myself that I need to sit up straight, that I shouldn’t slouch.

It’s the same for your mind.

Whenever we go into a dark place, it’s important we don’t wallow in it but rather take our thoughts captive and find joy, peace and thankfulness amidst our hurting.

IT. IS. HARD.

However, your back doesn’t get better by slouching more, even if it feels good in the moment. It will only get worse as time goes on. Our mind is constantly being renewed by Jesus, but only if we allow him in. It’s uncomfortable. However, in the end it is so worth it. It becomes second nature. Since changing mine and learning more about what that word means spiritually I realize, just how much better it feels.

Before, posture had always been such a confusing concept. I wondered how people knew that I needed to fix my posture just by seeing me. And then I realized, it’s just like our physical posture. People can see it. They see how you’re slouched in the way you speak, participate and look at others. People with a bad spiritual posture exude negativity. We look at God like He’s a bully, we allow Satan to win. There is Grace for that. But, imagine if we fixed our eyes on what is true and good?

The season I’ve been walking through has been painful. I’ve been sad for no reason and one thing kept coming after another. I felt like I had no friends, I wasn’t enjoying school and I basically hated my life. Then, I got into a car accident and I decided enough was enough. I started thanking God for what I did have rather than what I wanted. I focused on the truth and since then I have never felt more at peace or more joy amidst, still, so much chaos. It wasn’t easy though; thanking God right after a car accident?! Hard. But… possible. I cried many tears and when I was ready He approached me sweetly and said “what have I given you?”

LIFE.

Every breath we are given is a gift. I’m not sure I should be alive and typing this, but God isn’t done, and He isn’t done with you either. As soon as we focus on that, as soon as we relinquish control and see that was is happening is not God punishing us but rather, helping us, we will begin notice our minds rise up like, a person sitting up straight. The process is slow, but eventually it will become like second nature.

So, cry. Then, wipe those tears and sit up straight because God is doing something with this pain. He’s changing your posture and soon it’ll become natural.