I’m sitting in a quiet motel in a remote region, trying to do some research and get some 
extra writing done. I keep getting interference with my wi-fi connections, both through my phone’s hotspot and with my laptop’s connection to the motel wi-fi.
It worked well for one hour this afternoon as I was working on the end of this article, and then all the interruptions returned.I suspect it’s some jerk nearby. The clue is that telling little sentence that popped up on my screen saying, “The connection to www.google.com was interrupted while the page was loading.” Also, when I left the motel and went a few miles away to look for a store, I checked my connections on my phone. They were perfectly fine.
It could be anyone in close enough proximity to my motel room to mess with my laptop and I’m not going to go on a witch hunt over this.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. So much for the iPhone’s supposed lessened vulnerability to outside hacking! When I get home, I’ll have to increase the security on both devices.
I know I’m not the only one this happens to. There are lots of bored or malicious individuals out there who are happy to hack into anything they can. Meanwhile, I will have to concentrate on writing as opposed to research.
I’m trusting in the Lord’s purposes for me, that He is allowing the interference for a good reason. Let’s see, what could He be doing in me and my life that would help me understand why He is allowing all this interference, foolishness and drama?
Hmm, He could be making me more determined to complete the tasks that I need to get done every week and every day for Him and His people, let alone myself. Can I stay focused? How would I do as a married woman if I was easily derailed from getting important daily tasks done, whether for myself or my husband?
The Lord could be developing in me a strength and resilience that I will need for future ministry. What if my husband turns out to be in a high-level, high-visibility, or heavy-duty career or ministry? Am I being groomed and trained to keep up with him and support him?
He could be testing my commitment to Him and His commands. Will I continue to honor Him and His Word although I’m having major interference and spiritual warfare? How much will I continue to trust Him? Will I be able to honor the Lord when my husband won’t, or when I don’t feel like honoring the Lord?
He might be letting me see myself for who I really am when I am alone. Will I humble myself before the barriers He allows? Will I use His tools of spiritual warfare and not the fleshly weapons? Often I don’t do so well with this.
Could He actually be preparing me for marriage? I understand that my commitment must first be to the Lord, not to my husband. When I can focus on pleasing the Lord, then I won’t balk quite as much to honor and respect my husband on those days when he wants to be a… man responding in the flesh. I know those days will come!
(I also know I’m definitely not perfect. I will also have my days of being… a woman responding in the flesh… I sure hope Mr. Right is getting his training in sanctification!)
The Lord might be teaching me to concentrate on His priorities. Today, it’s writing as opposed to doing too much preliminary research. I came here to write, so write, Glenda!
I know that when I get home, I will be able to complete some of my research and schedule this blog to post Sunday morning. I can trust in His sovereignty for what He allows. So I can keep my soul quiet and be patient that, at the right time, in His time, despite any and all obstacles, I will be able to do all that I need to do each and every day. I will have to remember this when I am waiting for my husband to move in an area I consider important.
He’s definitely training me not to be distracted to anger or despair by the continual interference and interruptions going on around me. I understand it’s really not the person in front of me, it’s the spiritual, demonic fuel driving that other person to do foolish or malicious deeds, whether it’s slashing my car tires, killing my plants, stealing my jewelry, breaking out a headlight, or cutting me off while driving on the freeway so intensely that I swerve onto an unintended off ramp to get away.
Yes, all of these things, plus much, much more, have happened to me.
No, I have never been a gang member or done anything criminal or even remotely heinously unrighteous, unless you count two speeding tickets and perhaps three or four late car registrations in my early working days when I was having difficulty budgeting. Not even in my BC days have I done anything remotely criminal.
I’ve probably annoyed a few people by having an unpopular view on unpopular topics such as the reliability and validity of the Bible, the value of living a godly life, the person of Jesus Christ, and several social hot buttons.
I suppose if I wasn’t trying to live for the Lord in a culture that is deteriorating by the 
minute into a meltdown of delusions, sin, and violence, I wouldn’t be a target for the enemy. If I was just like the world, they would leave me alone. It doesn’t comfort me much, but at least I know I’m going in the right direction (John 15:18-25).
I understand that to have the right friends, I have to have the right enemies. I expect harassment from the world. Unfortunately, sometimes it also comes from the people of God.
I’m not going to cry and whine about the bad things and ridiculous or deceived people who come my way.
I understand that I am responsible for my own behavior, words, attitudes, and motives, not others’ (Thank you, Jesus!).
I refuse to let others get me down and keep me down. Nope. Not gonna do it.
It may be annoying, frustrating, discouraging, expensive, and tiring, but, by God’s grace, neither my faith nor His promises or His power will be stopped.
I’ve gone too far in the kingdom of God, too long in the Lord, to let the devil and his thugs rule my life. I belong to the Lord and He is sovereign over all, even terrible circumstances.
I’m not going to live under the circumstances. I’m going to live above them.
That, my friend, is how to reframe your circumstances.
I first talked about the concept of reframing in an earlier blog February 21, entitled, “Speed Bumps and Potholes.” I defined reframing as “taking a disappointment or negative event and restating it to yourself so that it has a positive outcome for you.” It’s a concept taken from the world of cognitive therapy, which trains the counselee to restructure their thinking about themselves and their circumstances; review it here: Speed Bumps and Potholes.
I will also add for today’s post that reframing will help impact the negative emotional weight that accompanied the original incident and transform the impact into a more positive one.
Reframing can help empower you to act from a place of feeling stuck by changing your perspective.
Reframing will help you count your blessings rather than your blemishes or your failures.
It’s man’s way of living out Philippians 4:8, which says, “Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse” (MSG).
Bad marriage, bad job, bad family, bad accident, bad education, bad childhood, bad romance, bad choices, bad consequences, bad advice… anything bad that happens to us, or even that we have done poorly, can be reframed.
God can take what the enemy meant for evil and reframe—redeem and even redo it—for godly and righteous purposes. Genesis 50:20 comes to mind.
It is one of my many favorite lifetime verses.
After Joseph’s brothers discovered that the little brother they sold into slavery was the vice-president of the world’s most powerful empire, and after their father died, they lied to him once again. They said that their father told him not to avenge himself on them after he passed. Joseph’s response was classic: “Don’t be afraid. Do I act for God? Don’t you see, you planned evil against me but God used those same plans for my good, as you see all around you right now—life for many people” (MSG).
You do not have to figure out what to do “under” the circumstances.
What are you doing down there, anyway? Get up! You can arise above them!
Reframing won’t change the situation, but it will help change you.
Christian single, what has happened to you, or what have you done poorly, that you need to reframe from God’s perspective?
Watch and pray. Seek His face. See what He does in your heart and your life as you cooperate with Him to change your attitude!
REFERENCE
Reframing. Definition from the medical dictionary of thefreedictionary.com. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/reframing
