What are YOU made of? (The Spiritual Version)

Given any normal tyre, how would you be able to test it out if it were a good tyre or one that is punctured?

Well the honest answer is: Only when you put it to the test. When the tyre hits the road, you will know what is the condition of the tyre. A fully inflated and well conditioned tyre will help the car in navigating rough terrains and even at times preventing it from accidents. However, a punctured tyre can't do that. It can last a few kilometers, but after that it will be malfunction.

Parallel this theology with our own lives. Imagine this:

You and me = Tyres

Road conditions = Circumstances of live
When the tyre hits the road, we will know what we are made of. Some of us handle crisis in life better. Some of us can't take it well and choose to escape away like an ostrich, burying our heads in the ground waiting for the hurricane to blow by.(read post below regarding unhealthy communication patterns) And there are also others whom takes problems negatively and swing into depressions, self-mutilation (cutting ownself), or even contemplates suicide.

How then can we take precautions for ourselves so that we are able to handle situations better and not let the problems overwhelm us completely? The key is P.R.E.P.A.R.A.T.I.O.N

Prepare yourself by:

1. Being Positive - No one goes into a battle wanting to lose. When situations are bad or trying, do not make it worse by speaking negatively!

Scriptures:
Ephesians 4:29 (NIV) Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

Ecclesiastes 10:2 (MSG) Wise thinking leads to right living; Stupid thinking leads to wrong living.

2. Training - Training for a marathon doesn't begin 2 weeks before the race, but at least a year before. Similarly, train your mind daily and remind yourself, "Regardless of what may come, I CHOOSE to stay positive!"

Scripture:
1 Conrinthians 26-27 (NIV) Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

3. Maintanence - F1 racing tyres are regular renewed and sent for testing as part of maintenance to keep the car in tip top condition for the race. Maintain yourselves by taking time off regularly to rest and reflect. You can take strolls, write in your journals, or catch a movie. Reflection is important as it helps to iron out your thoughts.

Scripture:
Hebrew 4:11 (NIV) Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience.

4. Gear Up - You can be the best soccer player in the world, but if you are wearing slippers to play on the pitch against players wearing boots.. you will still lose! Gear yourself up by constantly sharing and surrounding yourself with like-minded and positive friends. Trust me, postivity can spark and spread like wild fire.

Scripture:
Mark 2:3-5 (NIV) Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. When Jesus saw THEIR faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Well, truth of the matter is we will never know how we would react until crunch time hits us. But at least we can prepare outselves for things to come! :)

2 Timothy 4:2-3 (NIV) Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.