| Good morning everyone, Our theme for this month: “Renewed hope” Our Bible verse for today: “Why, my soul, are you so dejected? Why are you in such turmoil? Put your hope in God, for I will still praise him, my Savior and my God.” Psalm 42:5 (CSB) Our thought for today: “Avoid the emotional monkey traps” Are you familiar with the monkey trap? The monkey trap is a hollowed-out coconut that has a hole in the top that is just wide enough for a monkey to insert his extended hand into. Inside the coconut is a small pile of rice. The coconut is then chained to a stake in the ground. A hungry monkey will insert his narrow, extended hand into the small opening in the top of the coconut and grab a fist full of rice. But then he discovers that he cannot pull his closed fist with the rice back out of the coconut – the closed fist is too wide. To get his hand back out he will have to open his fist and let go of the rice – which he won’t do. Instead, he stubbornly holds onto the rice and remains trapped by the chained coconut. The monkey hunters then simply walk up and grab the monkey, who then becomes dinner. There is an emotional monkey trap that we sometimes allow ourselves to get trapped in. We grab ahold of a negative emotion and cling to it, ruminate on it, and refuse to let it go. If we would let it go, we could simply withdraw our mind from the trap and be on our way, but stubbornly we cling to it instead and remain trapped by it. The negativity then ruins our day and perhaps damages relationships when all the time, we could simply choose to let it go. But we don’t. We won’t. Have you noticed that when someone offends you or is unkind in some way, or you experience something unpleasant, you tend to ruminate on that thing and you can’t seem to get it out of your mind? You can receive nine compliments and one criticism and which will your mind focus on, the nine compliments or the one criticism? You know the answer. We quickly forget the compliments and become preoccupied with the criticism. Welcome to the emotional monkey trap. What’s the solution? How do we avoid or get out of the emotional monkey trap? The Bible tells us in Psalm 42:5, and Philippians 4:8, and in many other passages – praise God; thank God; fill your mind with the positive things of God; read Scripture; listen to Christian music; count your blessings; hug a baby; pet a puppy; have some chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (this one may not be in the Bible but it’s a really good idea anyway). There’s a whole world full of happy, joyful, and enjoyable thoughts and experiences we can choose to focus on rather than stewing over negative stuff. It’s difficult to find renewed hope if we allow our minds to be filled with things that are not hopeful, positive, and uplifting. Avoid the emotional monkey traps of life. Stop being so stubborn. Open that fist, let go of the negative, and then move on in life in a better frame of mind. God bless, Pastor Jim (If you like what you’re reading in these daily devotionals, and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00, in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville |
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