Rumination!

     Ha! There's a word for it. The word "rumination" refers to the act of constantly thinking negative thoughts to the point of not being able to focus on a solution to whatever it was that had the person thinking negatively in the first place. The act of ruminating, over and over again actually causes and/or leads directly to depression and anxiety in some people. There are a number of articles on the matter, I only brought the subject up because I don't actually tend to ruminate, but I guessed correctly, that if someone did spend an inordinate amount of their time thinking negatively, there must be either a diagnosis for it, and at least a name for the action. 

    A person who overeats all the time is a glutton. A person who won't stop blaming others for things they themselves do is transferring. I love words, so I said to myself, I think there has to be a name for this particular action. If there is a name for it, there must also be a cure for it; something to counter the very action(s) that cause a person to be so damned harmful to themselves.

    I've just never been a depressed person. I've never been an anxious person. I don't ruminate on a usual or daily basis. I don't tend to transfer my thoughts of what I'm actually doing onto someone else so I can then blame that person for my own downfall; no, I tend to raise my own hand and own my own mistakes.  Have I ever been sad or depressed? Sure I have. I have been scared and anxious, but I am not going to stay that way. It's dangerous and I know it is.

     The reason I'm able to say I'm not really ever depressed or anxious should be quite obvious to anyone who knows me. I am a born-again Christian, and from a very very early age, I learned two facts: (1) Jesus loves me and (2) He can't lie.  If He loves me, and He does, He keeps me.  He protects me. He lets me make mistakes, but that's where the second fact comes into play. He promised me that He would show me a way to get out of whatever it is I have found myself in; or involved with.

    Jesus is a Way Maker. That's what and who He is. We don't have to worry about anything, literally anything at all. He will find someone to help and He will do so because He promised He would do so. If His Word commands us to leave every one of our burdens at His feet - - then it's every burden, not 68% of them. We can leave the big things of course, but we can leave the smaller things as well.

    To constantly say you're doomed, or nothing ever goes your way, is just pathetic and it's actually a sin if you're a Christian. No, people don't want to hear that. They don't want to hear that being immoral, unethical, or overly dramatic is a sin, but it is. When we don't wait on God, when we don't pray to Him for guidance, and then we (for some dumb reason) think things will work out, we're losing the very power He instilled in us from the day we accepted His power and salvation.

     It's a sin to keep things from Him. It's a sin to think we can do it all on our own without His help. It's literally a sin when we worry because He promised us that nothing was impossible for us through Him, but we do have to ASK. We can't expect Him to give us anything if we don't at least have the withal to ask for it. We have NOT because we ask NOT, but if we ask, He is faithful to give according to His will. Don't go around thinking it's OK to ask for the winning lottery tickets; use your brain.

    Ruminating starts for whatever reason, but we can stop it. Ruminating destroys. Why would someone knowingly and voluntarily do it? Because it's become their second nature; even their first nature. It's controlled them. They've allowed it to control them. They can't trust themselves enough to trust God; if they are a Christian. If they aren't Christians, they're ruminating through the maker of all things negative, and that's Satan. Find Jesus. Who in their right mind wouldn't want peace? To say it's a no-brainer is easy for me; maybe because I've never gotten into the habit of allowing trash to ruin my spirit. No, I'm not LUCKY....I'm blessed.

    When someone says "Good luck" to me, I know they mean well, but it's not luck. Luck is strictly driven by chance, and that's hapless; it's not solid, it's not reality. Don't wish me anything; pray for me. Ask God to protect me, ask Him to protect yourself. Ask Him to show you the way, the truth, and the path that is best to take to get out from under the weight that you've created for yourself. If you've only experienced bad things in your life, stop all the things you're doing that cause that. If that means getting away from the very people who oppress you, get out from under them. MOVE...and be with Jesus; He will never oppress you. He will never tell you that you are worthless. He will never undermine you. He will only lift you. 

    Again, it's a no-brainer, but those who are swimming in the molasses can't understand that the One who walks on water and calms the seas is the same One who created all the stars and He knows each by their name. Never does a single sparrow fall that He is not made aware of it; He knows me. He loves me. He will always provide for me. I can't be sad. I can't be anxious. I can't be bitter, and I will not give the deceiver a foot-hold in my life; not if I can help it. 

    When God uses me to help others I thank Him because He's gonna turn around and use them to help someone else in ways I can't.  He's gonna use someone else to bless me in ways I can't help them maybe, but it sparks something in me to help others in ways that I can. Don't be bitter if He calls on you to help; raise your head, your hands, and your heart and thank Him for being able to serve! He asked you for your help!! The God of the entire universe asked you to assist!! Can you imagine? I hope to be so blessed over and over again. 

    When you think about ruminating -- and I hope you never do; refocus your thoughts on these two facts: (1) Jesus loves you enough to die for you and (2) He cannot lie. He promised eternal life to anyone (anyone) who will ASK for it. 

Photo Credit: Rogers Behavior Health