Inertia. It's a concept in physics that I learned about years ago. In short it describes resistance to motion, action, or change. There are times when inertia works for us, and other times when it works against us.

Physical Inertia.
It's been a while since I've used a bus for public transport, but I can still remember piling on to a crowded bus that seemed already filled beyond capacity. I would wedge myself between at least three other people and find a place to hold on. Every movement of the bus tested my ability to hold on. With each stop of the bus, I would lurch sideways towards the front of the bus (and the person standing next to me). As the bus completed a stop and moved forward, I would swing sideways towards the back of the bus (and the person standing on the other side of me). A turn around a corner would force me into a horizontal pull-up or push-up to prevent from crashing into the person behind me or seated in front of me. It took exhausting effort to remain upright and secure in my position. It might have been less strenuous for me to just "go with the flow" and flip and flop into the people who were around me, but in doing so I would have risked not only injuring myself (or being injured by others), but also injuring those around me. Sometimes as you are moving towards your destination the motion itself may create situations that threaten to cause you to collide with those nearest you. But hold on. Anchor yourself. Stay upright, and maintain your proper stance. Your resistance to the pressures of change around you is not only for your own good, but also for the good of those around you.

Mental Inertia.
I remember an instance when I was sitting in my car waiting for the traffic light to change. My gaze was ahead of me, but I was lost in thought. A bus happened to be beside me in the next lane. Suddenly, I felt a sense of panic. I felt out of control and disoriented because I felt like I was rapidly moving backwards. It took a few moments for me to realize that it was not me who was moving backward; it was the bus next to me moving forward. Somehow, my mind had made a stronger connection with what was beside me instead of what was ahead of me. I was still stationary when I should have been moving and my mental resistance to the change that was taking place caused the panic I felt. As soon as the realization of the situation set in, I put the car in gear and started moving. Don't allow distractions to cause you to resist the forward motion that you should be a part of. Reconnect with your vision and get moving.

Spiritual Inertia.
Over the years, I have spent time meditating on what it means to be "in the Lord." I have come to the conclusion that flexibility on my part is what is required for me to be successfully in Him. If I am in Him, He is in control. I go where He goes. When He moves, I move with Him. When He turns or stops, I follow suit. I am in Him. However, it is possible for me to be in Him and still be rigid and inflexible. Such a position would make it very uncomfortable for me if He bends or moves in a certain direction. I have experienced great discomfort, pain, or brokenness for this very reason: my inflexibility. As a result, I have learned how important it is to be pliable: easily bent or shaped; adaptable; receptive (not resistant) to change. Sometimes heat is used to make a thing pliable. God's heat is what we might call trials. But there is an easier way and that is to yield. Give yourself wholly over to God for whatever purposes He has in mind. Don't resist Him. Let Him bend you and shape you and turn you as He wants to. If you and I can trust a car or a bus to get us where we need to go, surely we can trust Him.

Aleathea Dupree is the author of Though The Vision Tarry: Waiting For My Promised Mate and the Administrator of the Deep Waters website/forum. Copyright © 2005. All Rights Reserved. For permission to reprint, please contact: administrator@deepwaters.info.

OVERCOMERS MINISTRIES is a ministry with a focus on spiritual deliverance, in particular, from sexual brokenness. The ministry has served the needs of countless men and women across the nation, providing Christian counseling to those who have been held captive within the clutches of sexual perversion. The ministry is advancing its newest phase—CHAINBREAKERS—group meetings for those pursuing or maintaining deliverance from homosexuality.

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How To Get A Date Worth Keeping: Be Dating In Six Months Or Your Money Back
by Henry Cloud

Have you ever asked yourself: Why doesn't God bring someone to love into my life? Why am I always attracted to the wrong kind of people? Should I marry someone I am not really attracted to just because we share the same values and are such great friends? You are not alone. There is a growing population of people who feel that dating is just not working for them. In this book, Dr. Henry Cloud gets to the heart of these issues and provides readers with a de-mystifying perspective on dating and a hands on "How To" manual to get people unstuck, un-mad, un-depressed, and on the road to fun and fulfillment in the single life.

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Deep Waters is Designed and Maintained by Dathea. Copyright © 2005. All rights reserved.

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(New American Standard Bible)

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