When something unpleasant or negative happens, and it seems that sooner or later it always does, what’s your reaction or response?  Below are two lists. One is a list of reactions. The other is a list of responses. Can you see the difference?

List 1: Reactions
Guess what happened now?
It figures; I knew this was going to happen.
Why did that have to happen?
Why does this crap keep happening to me?
Who did this?
I can’t fix this.
There’s no way.
I don’t have the money for this.
I can’t take this crap anymore.
I’m sick and tired of all this crap.

List 2: Responses
God, I need your help.
I heard what happened; so what can we do about it?
There must be a solution; let’s find the solution.
There has to be a way; around it, over it, through it, there just has to be a way.
Who can I talk to to get some sound advice?
How can I get the money that I need; where can I get the money?
This is challenging, but with God’s help, I will see victory.
Father, show me, help me, and guide me through this.

There is a difference between reactions and responses.

If you drop a cup of coffee or tea on the kitchen floor, would you say something from List 1 or from List 2?  Regardless of which list you choose, there would still be a mess on the floor and a shattered cup, right? But would you throw your hands up in desperation and say, “Why did that have to happen?”

You would just begin the task of cleaning up the mess so you could move on with your life.  You certainly wouldn’t walk away thinking that there was no way to fix it, right?  It’s a silly example, but I think it illustrates the point.

When something much bigger than a shattered cup of coffee happens, couldn’t we adopt the same attitude?  Couldn’t we look for a solution and get to work to resolve it? Reactions from List 1 waste a lot of the time and energy and never produce a solution. Responses from List 2 puts on the road to finding a solution.

How we respond absolutely determines the outcome of our situations and circumstances.  And, we can choose to control our attitude; our reactions or our responses.

Instead of just reacting to circumstances beyond our control, let’s ask God for help, and choose responses that will improve it.