Hey, friends!

Can you believe that we are at the end of Week 5? Give yourself a pat on the back! Whether you are all caught up or a few days or weeks behind, you committed to eliminating the spiral of toxic thoughts in your life, and that is something to be proud of!

Let’s recap what we studied this week in Get Out of Your Head. We tore down the emotions of self-pity, complaints, stress and self-indulgent comforts. We replaced them with choices that reflect God’s work in us. Those are:

• I choose to be grateful.
• I choose to seek the good of others.

As Jennie Allen shares, the Apostle Paul certainly had his fair share of suffering. Given all that he endured, he could have thrown himself a pity party that lasted for weeks. But he didn’t. He chose to be grateful. This allowed him to experience God in the midst of what he was going through.

And we can be like Paul. Our circumstances do not define us. Do you believe that?

There are times when it's hard for me to see the Lord working because my circumstances blind me. We have to focus beyond what’s in front of us to see God’s good purposes. Focus on Jesus. As Jennie says on page 178,

“In Jesus, we can change where we fight from without changing what we fight for.”

We can achieve victory over our circumstances because Jesus defeated death. That is something to be grateful for, friends!

Our second choice this week is choosing to seek the good of others. God set us free to serve others. On page 192 of Get Out of Your Head, Jennie writes,

“Do you want to know God’s will for your life? I’ll give it to you in three words: Surrender. And obey.”

Those three words can be so hard for me to live out. I enjoy comfort, but if I want to surrender and obey, I must step out of my comfort zone. I must choose to listen to God.

If you’re struggling with those three words, you aren’t alone. When you feel the prompting of the Holy Spirit to step out of your comfort zone and proclaim boldly — “Yes, Lord! I will obey!” — know that you are living the life the Lord intended you to live.

And that calls for a celebration!

I am praying for you!

Missy

Let’s Chat!

What kind of toxic spiral do you commonly find yourself in? What can you do today to get out of that spiral?

Next Steps:

• Journal a gratitude list.
• Watch and jot down thoughts on Session 5 with Jennie Allen.
• Pray for our last week of study.

Last night on our P31 OBS Facebook page, we had Bible Study LIVE at the Table! We watched this video (above) together and then had a discussion around some of the questions found in the study guide. No Facebook? No problem! You can access this video here, even if you don't have an account!