There are times when the pressure of life seems to become fairly incapacitating.  Circumstances at work or at home have become such that you want to escape it.  You begin to think "I need to take a vacation" or "a nap would really do me good" when the issue is really one of the heart.  Your hope & love for Jesus has waned.  Sometimes you realize it; sometimes you don’t.

Oftentimes, we blame our sinful responses on circumstances.  If you hadn’t said "…", Why don’t the kids put away their freakin’ toys!…, I can’t believe that I’ve been diagnosed with …, Fine!  Leave!…,  But officer…, What do you mean ‘you spent it’?, …I wouldn’t have gotten angry if…

Have you been blaming your sin on other people or issues?  When hard circumstances hit your life, what’s been going on inside your heart becomes increasingly evident.

 "We maintain that changes in situation, location, and relationship
would allow us to respond differently. We say that the difficulty
causes us to respond in sinful ways. But the Bible teaches again and
again that our circumstances don’t cause us to act as we do. They only
expose the true condition of our hearts, revealed in our words and
actions." (Tim Lane & Paul Tripp, authors of How People Change)  

On this topic, Carolyn McCulley, on her Solo Femininity blog, shares two things worth noting:

• a great analogy using a sponge
• links to some good class notes that focused on this topic & the book mentioned above.
  

Oh, and read the book if you’re interested in still more on this topic!