{"id":2834,"date":"2015-05-24T21:57:25","date_gmt":"2015-05-25T02:57:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=2834"},"modified":"2015-05-24T22:15:56","modified_gmt":"2015-05-25T03:15:56","slug":"choose-to-act-instead-of-react","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=2834","title":{"rendered":"Choose to Act Instead of React"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Act.React\"<\/a>While we may not be able to control everything that happens to us, we are still responsible for how we think, act, feel and respond in any given situation.\u00a0 At times our choices may be limited, but we can still choose to \u201cact\u201d responsibly instead of \u201creact\u201d negatively. \u00a0Will we respond with strength or weakness, courage or despair, love or hate? \u00a0How we respond makes a big difference in our quality of life.<\/p>\n

When we \u201creact\u201d to what life throws our way, we allow circumstances and other people to determine our behavior.\u00a0 We let our emotions control what we do.\u00a0 Many times reacting is an auto-pilot response resulting from previous programmed behavior.\u00a0 In other words, we don\u2019t really think about our responses we just react subconsciously based on what we\u2019ve always done.\u00a0 Old habits die hard.<\/p>\n

However, when we \u201cact\u201d we make a conscious choice.\u00a0 We have to actually think and evaluate each situation.\u00a0 Our goal should be to do what God\u2019s Word would have us do, not what we want to do or what we feel like doing.\u00a0 Therefore each circumstance becomes a learning experience, helping us grow in grace and knowledge.<\/p>\n

Daily life is full of stress, frustration, and offense.\u00a0 What do we do when faced with a whiney kid, annoying spouse or difficult boss?\u00a0 What do we do when we feel hassled? \u00a0Do we lash out, blow up in anger, say hurtful things, or try to get even?\u00a0 Scriptures teach us that these are not healthy responses and will not produce positive results.<\/p>\n

We can determine some of our responses by planning ahead.<\/p>\n

When we are stuck in a traffic jam do we fuss, fume and make ourselves miserable?\u00a0 Those are reactions that do not produce good fruit.\u00a0 When we drift into the habit of reacting, even minor irritants become monumental.\u00a0 We lose perspective.\u00a0 \u00a0Since we all know traffic jams are inevitable why not decide ahead of time how to act when they happen.\u00a0 Perhaps when a traffic jam occurs we could plan to listen to music, listen to a book on CD, count our blessings, thank God we aren\u2019t in the accident causing the jam, pray for the person who is, or meditate on Jesus\u2019 teachings.<\/p>\n

When someone is rude do we react by being rude too? \u00a0Do we say, \u201cAre you always so stupid or is today a special occasion?\u201d\u00a0 Or \u201cKeep talking and maybe someday you\u2019ll say something intelligent!\u201d\u00a0 God tells us how to deal with difficult people in Luke 32:32-36.\u00a0 If we internalize scripture we can determine ahead of time that we will consciously choose to be gracious even when others are not. \u00a0We will be courteous and respectful to everyone \u2013 friends and enemies.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a simple formula for learning how to act instead of react:<\/p>\n