More on Evicting your Crazy Maker

The Practical Disciple » Uncategorized » More on Evicting your Crazy Maker

October 30th, 2008 | Add a Comment

Wow! I guess a lot of us have people that bug the crud out of us. I call them crazy makers. I received multiple responses regarding my last post on evicting crazy makers from my head. Enough to merit follow-up.

Pray for your Crazy Maker for at least 3 weeks

As one reader noted to me, I was dealing with resentment which is a feeling that we keep having over and over again. Letting go of resentments is a common part of many recovery programs, including a recovery ministry I was involved with for three years. The conventional wisdom in recovery ministry is that you should pray for that person daily for at least three weeks. Some programs say two weeks, but I would error on the side of longer; particularly, if you are dealing with a big anger inside.

Pray for your Crazy Maker’s well being.

It’s not just a matter of praying about letting go of the anger. In fact, the real key is to pray for that person’s well-being. Pray God’s best for them. I wrote a post on this last April and you can read it by clicking here. What I failed to mention in that article though was the need to pray daily for at least a couple of weeks as I mention above.

I really haven’t given the guy that was stealing my joy the other evening another thought after redirecting my thinking. However, that’s partially because when he initially hurt me many months ago, I spent time on this kind of prayer work. I prayed for him daily for much more than a couple of weeks. As a result, most of the anger had been released, but given my restless night the other evening I guess you could say that I must have missed a spot.

Stop Seething by shifting your focus to Gratitude

One reader noted that writing a gratitude list is a great way to shift our mindset as well. As they put it, “It’s hard to be grateful and hateful at the same time.” I have used this on more than one occassion.

Bottom-line, Take Action and Stop Victimizing Yourself

I hope you are starting to recognize that you have multiple options when you find your mind spinning in a negative rut, whether it be anger, complaining, being jealous, judging, or whatever life depleting thought you can imagine. You can exercise choice. You are not a helpless victim being accosted by thoughts. They are your thoughts. Fire them and hire some new ones. You can choose gratitude, spend time in prayer, read scripture, listen to uplifting music, take a hike, call a friend, journal, or much more. The key is recognize that you our in a mindset that is harmful to you and take action to knock it out of your head.

Lastly, Remember Whose You Are

You are a child of God. Paul wrote to Timothy, “For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and self-control” 2 Timothy 1:7. So, draw on that God-given power, treat yourself with love and exercise that self-control.

Subscribe to The Practical Disciple by Email