Breaking the Cycle

How often do we find ourselves in a sense of deja vu?  I'm not talking about the fleeting "I think I dreamed this" but rather the type that says "Oh boy, I've been here before".  This cycle can be about anything in our lives, but generally it is a pattern of self-defeating actions that end up with us having a worthless mindset that places the blame everywhere else except where it belongs.

Life is about perspective - it may take a while to see what is the best route, but once you do see it, it will change everything.

The things of life that entangle us are placed there for a reason.  And we choose those things.  Think about the cycle that you get into...can you pinpoint its start?  Can you identify where you can break the cycle?

If we look into the Judges era of the Bible we find a cycle that many of you may recognize

1. Israel would forget God and begin worshipping idols.


2. A wave of foreign invasion and oppression would begin.

3. The people would cry out to God for deliverance.

4. God would send a deliverer, who would through God's help defeat the invaders
and for a time rule over the people as judge.”

5. Back to step 1.
 
I want you to think about this for a moment - because Israel fell into the same patterns we endure today.
 
When things go well - we forget God.  We forget that the primary reason that things are going well is because of the goodness and grace of God. God wants to see his children prosper and when they do, instead of falling on our knees to give thanks, we abandon God.
 
Challenge yourself - think about it.  How much time do you spend in celebration with God, thanking him for the blessings that have been bestowed upon you?
 
When we get out of alignment with God - entanglements happen - we pull further away from God. We begin to worry. We try to fix them on our own.  We often fail miserably. We blame Him.  We cry "why me".  We look to blame everyone under the sun.
 
When things get hopeless - we run to God asking for his help.  We beg for his help.  We barter - if you will do this, I will follow you always.  We may for a fleeting moment, we may even truly believe. 
 
God sends us hope, a solution, a way out of our problems.  We say an initial thanks (if we give Him credit), then what do we do.......
 
Back to step 1.
 
Not much appears to have changed.  The cycle continues to occur.  But there is hope.
 
His name is Jesus.
 
Matthew 4:19 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." (NIV)
 
The path to breaking the cycle has been laid out for us in the Word of God.  Matthew 4:19 gives the simple command that Jesus gave to Peter and Andrew.  Come, follow me.  
 
Getting into the Word is the first step to breaking your cycle.  If you do not read the Word and accept it as God's message to you about your life, it is impossible for you to make the changes in your life that will lead you to God's plan for you.
I have a piece of homework for you.  Go to a bookstore, any bookstore.  Go to the self-help section.  Gaze on the hundreds if not thousands of different books that are present to "help" with any situation that you may be facing.  You will find a lot of them.  Some of them have horrible titles like  "_____ for Dummies".  Trust me when I say, God did not make you a dummy.  But he did make sure that you have the best help book of all - the Bible.  Notice that I did not call it a self-help book.
 
Asking for God's help is your second step to breaking your cycle.  The most misquoted bible scripture is "God helps those who help themselves."  Guess what, it's not in there.  But you will find countless times where you are asked to lean on God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. James 1:5 "If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." (NIV)
 
For many of us, we have trust issues.  We also live in a society where we are taught to stand straight, stand tall, and stand alone.  As a boy, I was told countless times to grow up, quit acting like a baby, big boys don't cry.
 
It takes humility to say that you are powerless over the entanglements in your life and to truly give them over to God.  If you review your cycle right now, what are those things that you think you are keeping in secret away from God's prying eyes?  God knows every thought you think before you think it.  He knows your issues.  He awaits for you to bring them to him.
 
Following God's word is a third step to breaking your cycle.  James 1:22-25 says 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.  Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in the mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But the man who looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues to do this, not forgetting what he has heard, but doing it - he will be blessed in what he does. (NIV)  God has given us so much.  He gave us the world we live in.  He has given us the air we breathe.  He gave his one and only Son as a bridge between man and God, He gave us the Holy Spirit and the Word to convict and guide us.  He also gave us a choice.
 
As we have seen in the lives of the children of Israel and in our own lives, without help, we can not break the cycles which entangle us.  But we have the greatest help ever found in our Lord Jesus Christ.  He can light a path for us, if we are willing to break those bonds that entangle us.  If we are willing to choose him as he has already chosen us.
 
Psalm 119:105 says "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path" (NIV).
 
Will you let God help you break your cycle?  Will you humble yourself before the Lord and let him guide you?  Will you be willing to change to follow Him when the world tries to turn you away with shiny new trinkets?  Will you let His love surround you and heal you?
 
Just reach out your hand and take His.  Break your cycle today.  Welcome home!!
 
Many blessings to each of you this day.  God love you.
 
Pastor Jim