Apathy bordering on Respite

ap·a·thy
Pronunciation: \ˈa-pə-thē\
Function: noun
Etymology: Greek apatheia, from apathēs without feeling, from a- + pathos emotio
Date: 1594
1 : lack of feeling or emotion : impassiveness
2 : lack of interest or concern : indifference

Ok… so I am on a downward kick! But there is only so much you can take before you throw up your hands and scream WHAT THE £③©#!

I get tired sometimes and when it gets especially rough Job 3 begins to sound comforting.

This isn’t the place for journaling… so I won’t!

But, I think that the above word “APATHY” can be a way to slow down your reaction to life. Not outwardly for the world to see, and not as a tool for self abasement, but a tool to use inwardly to help stop emotions from running rampant. It is an internal switch that you flip to keep from flipping out. (Or to keep from doing something really stupid) For me it's seems better to say; "I'm not going to care about this anymore", rather than react to circumstance and throttle the closest person to you. Sometimes it is the only way I can get through it. I thought about using the word ‘Respite’ (a period of temporary delay) but it doesn’t accurately depict how I feel nor does it give a way to accomplish a period of delay.

We all exist on the edge of our perception. We can’t get beyond it. We can expand our level of perception… but that is only moving the edge we stand on. Ultimately, when you’ve pushed perception out as far as you can; you realize that there is still an edge that you can not see beyond. And when all of what you don’t know begins to pile up on top of you… things like, how, why, what do I do now, what’s next, where do we go from here??? AND YOU JUST WANT TO SCREAM… ‘Apathy’ can be a source of comfort. Apathy is another way to swallow what you face and leave it up to God. Believe it or not there can be peace and joy just beyond apathy. On the surface the word paints a negative picture. But in the heat of trial ‘apathy’ can be a stop gap to keep you from stepping further into Rage over what you can’t control or Fear over what you don’t know and beyond both into worry over either of them. James tells us; “to count it all joy”… and maybe there are a few hero’s out there who can do this all the time… but for those of us who when under fire sometimes feel the need to crawl back under our rock, you can find a friend in Apathy and stand strong in the flames. For me it gives me a chance to slow down and focus. To keep rage and worry at bay and focus on God… and ask Him… how, why, what do I do now, what’s next, where do we go from here, and stifle the scream! We are human… we are ‘flesh and blood’ and we can’t always feel joy in pain (although we should strive to). None of us have been given an option to ‘quit’ or ‘give up’… only an option to endure. And if you can’t find joy… you can still find a lack of concern for your problems (temporarily) in apathy.

And when Gods peace finds you apathy subsides, and His strength returns… because ultimately it will… you will rise from the fire and ashes stronger and purer than when you entered and better equipped to fight another day.

1 Corinthians 10:13 No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he'll never let you be pushed past your limit; he'll always be there to help you come through it.

1 Peter 1:6-7 Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it's your faith, not your gold, that God will have on display as evidence of his victory.