“ The Wrong Side Of The Bed”

Somedays I wake up refreshed and ready to go…. a zip in my step, a smile on my face, a good cup of coffee, a jump start on my prayer time …. it’s going to be a good day. 

Other days, it seems I wake up with a “boulder on my shoulder”. The worries of the day are waiting for me… maybe I’m tired …. I immediately begin thinking about the country and its woes, the Ukraine, problems of friends and family…auuuuugh.

What to do when it’s a “boulder on my shoulder day”. If I’m not careful, this negative feeling can take hold and influence my whole day. It’s interesting that the objective truth of the “great day vs lousy day” is not very different… but it’s the state of my soul that seems to be different…. hmmmmmm….”what to do, what to do…”

Well, it’s hard to predict how you may feel as you arise in the morning… some days are up and some days are down. So, what should we do?  I believe the most important thing is to recognize what’s going on, to recognize that we are in a spiritual battle and we need God’s help. Scripture tells us that the battle belongs to the Lord. (ref. 1Sam. 17:47) 

Because of this, we can call on the Lord in the midst of the battle and he will help us….

• when we arise and find our self behind the eight ball, cry out, “Lord, help me…save me Lord…it’s your battle…”
• when I find myself in the midst of a “jealous or envious snare against a person” …friend or foe …. ask God to bless them, to help them, to prosper them… defeat those lies of the devil.
• if I find myself being tempted to discouragement or feeling misunderstood, quote St. Francis to yourself… ”O Divine master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console …. to be understood, as to understand….to be loved as to love.  For it’s in giving that we receive, and it’s in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it’s in dying that we are born to eternal life.” 

What I often find is that when I do a little spiritual warfare against these types of temptations, they tend to lift…. not right away, but in 5 or 10 or 15 minutes. I’m able to catch my breath; the cloud disperses and I’m able to move forward…. things start to stabilize. 

So, let’s not panic when we wake up on the “wrong side of the bed” to some spiritual attack. Let’s call on the Lord in this time of need, and he will help us. Jesus, help me…. and he will. Remember, “this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.” (Ps. 118:24)