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Relationships: The Two Week Challange
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Biblical Tips On Relationships:
Two Week Challenge
Take a Two-Week Challenge That Will Change Your Life and Relationships
For two weeks, only let yourself think positive thoughts.
Phil 4:8-9 NIV
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.
Prepare
What you are about to do is hard. Spend quality time in prayerful preparation. Pray about when to start. Ask God for help. Ask someone faithful to cover you daily in prayer for the two-week period.
Take captive your thoughts
Rebuke every negative thought that enters your head. Trust me - they will slip in. They do not count if you replace them with a positive one within three seconds.
Warning - Satan will try to derail your efforts
Satan is alarmed because he knows the power in Philemon 4:8. He will send annoyances and your favorite pet peeves. When things start to go wrong, just smile and rebuke Satan. Satan has no power beyond what we allow and the fact that he is trying to interfere simply indicates the importance of what you are doing.
Warning - you probably won’t make it the first time
In fact, it usually takes several false starts before anyone makes the full two weeks. Do not give up. Do not be discouraged. If you slip, just start over. Remind yourself how hard this is. Remember to call you prayer partner and ask him or her to extend the prayers.
Notice the difference
You will be amazed before you are half way through. If you are diligent and make the two weeks, you will never forget the experience. It will be the hardest and the most amazing thing you have ever done. While you probably cannot attain this standard for a lifetime, you will spend the rest of your life trying.
Example
I recommend this from personal experience. Bob and I were going through a very difficult time in our life when a Christian mentor, Jesse Knapp, suggested this exercise for us.
It had seemed like everything in our lives was going wrong. Several dear relatives had passed away. We were exhausted from medical care and funeral preparations. Economic difficulties had us discouraged. Challenges with our oldest son, David, had us terrified. We felt attacked at every level and it had begun affecting our relationship. I sought God but could find no peace.
Out of desperation, we took out mentor’s advice. It took several starts. For the first couple of weeks, things got worse. Appliances broke and children threw tantrums. Grumpy family members took that particular time to announce their many grievances. The demon self pity won and we failed. We remembered the warning about failing. We persisted and finally made it for the two weeks. We completed the exercise within days of each other.
At the end of the two weeks, our perspective on life changed. I saw my husband as faithful and loving. I realized that like me, he had been reacting to difficult circumstances. I had been taking his reactions personally. I apologized and he did the same. I also realized we had been self-absorbed in our difficulties and the grumpy family members just needed a little attention. My oldest son continued to struggle but I had two precious younger children that also needed my attention. I turned David over to God and began enjoying the normalcy of my other children.
Bob and I began attacking our problems instead of each other. We fell in love all over again. One by one, our difficulties resolved themselves. In the middle of the difficulties, I had wondered why I could not hear or feel God. God had been speaking to us all along but we could not hear his voice through our own negativity.
I have never forgotten the lesson. When I feel myself drowning in self-pity and negativity, I repeat the exercise. It has the same impact every time. What ever is right, true, admirable, praiseworthy, and lovely; think on these things.
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