Our life is full of many moments, some moments are pleasant and nice, some moments difficult and sad, and others moments…well we wish we never had. I have had several of those “wish we never had um” moments in my life, which is mostly, I feel where this message is stemmed from.

As an illustration, I was praying one morning about an event that was coming soon in my life, and I was asking that the Lord would give me strength when that event came to pass. I was praying for his strength because I felt that if I were to react in my own way, I would highly regret it. And then I began to pray for his patience and love for another issue coming up in my life, when the Lord had should me that its all about how you “React” to situations.

 The way we “React” to these moments in our life, reflects either a negative effect on us or others, or a positive effect on us or others. It was then that the Lord had given me 5 basic tips to help me before I “React.”

R- RENEWING  

The bible says, in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”  One of the many definitions of renew is to: revive, reestablish, and recover. When we “renew” our mind, we are really asking that the Lord take all the bad or wrong thoughts and renew them to the way they should be, kind and loving.    

E- EQUIPPING

Hebrews 13:20-21, May the God of peace…equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. When moments come, we can “equip” ourselves to “react” in positive ways by asking for the Lord’s help. His word says that he will equip us with everything good for doing his will. Which brings me to the next tip, “Ask.”

A- ASKING

            If we take the time to step away from the situations that we feel our to big for us to handle, or that we will react badly, or meanly to, and simply ask that the Lord renew and equip us, the results can be very rewarding and surprising. If we feel angry about a situation, we can ask for his love and patience, if we feel nervous or scared about a situation, we can ask for his strength and bravery.  There are many ways the Lord comforts and helps us, we just need to realize these moments when we can, “…cast our cares upon him…” (Psalm 55:22)

C- CARING

            When the Lord put this Acronym upon my heart and I came to C-Caring, I was like what! How does that fit in, haha. But then one of the great commands in the bible came to my mind, “…Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Romans 13:9) And I thought, wow, if I really did “love” my neighbor, (neighbor simply meaning anyone else), as myself, and showed that same care that I do for myself to others, I would really “react” differently to them in those moments in my life when I would normally get mad or frustrated or upset with them. Although, I will admit those moments are not easy to look upon the person or people with love, but again, we can pray and ask that the Lord help us to care and react in a loving way.

T- TEACHING

            And then we come to T-Teaching, again this was another word, that I just didn’t get at first. But alas, the Lord showed me why T for Teaching is so important in this “REACT” acronym. It is important because in each moment or situation, when we react, whether it is in a positive way or not, we are learning. When we react positively, we are allowing the Lord to “teach” us how to do so, and we are learning how that benefits us in the long run. When we react in a negative way, run by our own feelings, we…hopefully, reflect on how that went and realize how it could have been handled God’s way, but in the end, we can allow the Lord to teach us how to react.

            Personally, I have found that when I step out of that potently, “wish I never had um” moment, and use these 5 tips, I feel renewed and aware of how I want to react, and how that will make me feel when I react in a positive way. I hope that this message has encouraged you to become aware of those “reacting” moments, and I pray that you may be blessed in every moment that you allow the Lord to guide you in reacting to them.