I don’t know how many people are living complicated lives…maybe it is just me- but, for some reason I do not think I stand alone on an island of complexities.

This broken world we live in offers a myriad of hurdles that intersect, overlap, t-bone into, and infiltrate our lives to their very core.

I am frequently reminded, even at high school football games, how entangled lives can be with each other- whether you asked for it or not; whether you want it that way or not.

So, my Jesus Always really spoke to me this morning…I think it is because I often feel I am either at fault on a regular basis for these issues or that I am responsible to at least HELP fix them (be a part of the solution and not the problem mentality)

The encouragement comes here:

“I can smooth out all the tangled-up places, including those in your mind and heart. So come to me just as you are, with all your knotty problems and loose ends (that alone speaks volumes- LOOSE ENDS?? Yes, there are a few).

Many of your difficulties are complicated by other people’s perplexities. It can be hard to sort out how much of the mess is yours and how much is theirs.

Be willing to take responsibility for your own mistakes and sin without feeling responsible for the sinful failures of others.

I am here to help you untangle your complex problems and find the best way to go forward.”

The question is HOW do I do this??

“Beware of getting stuck in introspection or obsessing about how to fix things”.

(Sarah Young)

Over and over lately the Lord is showing me to turn my focus back to Him: to quit staring at the problem or difficulty; to quit worrying about how this could ever possibly get any better; to stop wondering what did I do wrong.

Yes, there are things in my heart that need to get cleaned up, but to obsess over them is a dangerous road that leads to destructive thoughts…

I need to remember who it is I am forgiven by and not those who are angry with me; who it is that loves me and not those who don’t; whose standards it is of which I live and not this world that I may live in because I do not belong to it; who it is I long to please because He is the King of Kings; who it is that died for me when I did not deserve saving because He loved me before I knew Him.

Keep my eyes focused on Christ..and trust Him to untangle my knots.

(Sarah Young)