It’s not about me
A few months ago I took a job as a sales manager with the company I work I with. Before that I was a sales rep for the company and being in sales it is all about you. It’s about what you do and managing your clients. It is like running your own business. The thing you worry about the most is you, because it is up to you to make you sales numbers. However when I took this job I have learned it’s not about me it’s about the team. I have learned to focus more on others than myself. When things don’t go your way, do you react or respond? Think carefully about how you answer that question. Every day of our lives we are confronted with circumstances that squeeze one of those actions out of us, and the behavior that manifests itself is telling. When we react, it is usually not good. Reaction is often guided by the flesh. We want we want, when we want it. We want our plans to come to fruition. We want our way, and when we don’t get it we react. Sometimes our reaction is manifest in anger, frustration, pouting or a bad attitude. When we react, we are putting our selfishness on full display. However, when we respond it is often guided by the spirit. When we respond, it says that we are thinking biblically. Paul said that God created all things and all things were created through Him and for Him. Where do you see your way in this verse? God created all things, including us, for Himself. So when we don’t get our way, it may be painful, and it may not be the road of our choice, but He is right there with us. He is giving us the opportunity to trust him with our circumstances and display our faith in him. We need to remind ourselves daily that it’s not about us; it’s all about him Colossians 1:16 “for by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.”
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Learning to wait
I remember when I was running a half marathon in Disney and it was so cold. I remember wanting to get out of the car and get to the starting line. I had some friends tell me let’s just wait because it is so cold. I thought it’s not that bad we have all these clothes on. I talked them to lets go and they said you are going to wish you would have waited and thought please it will be fine. Well let’s just say we got to the starting line and had to wait and I was about to freeze. They looked at me and said are you cold I said no, of course I was not going to say I was cold. About 15 min later we should have waited because I am about to freeze and I will never forget what one of them said. It was you need to listen and learn to wait. As I was running this morning I thought about that and thought why we are in such a hurry all the time? This verse came to me “I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7” For most of us, waiting is no easy task! It goes against our nature. Since we live in a day dominated by the fast, the quick, and the instant, waiting annoys and irritates us. The psalmist said, “My times are in your hand” Psalm 31:15, but most of us find out time more convenient when it’s in our own hands or on our wrist! In a society, extraordinarily obsessed with cell phones, watches, calendars, and schedules, waiting is considered an obscene waste of time. But waiting is not always wasted-especially when you are waiting on the One whom Micah described as “the God of my salvation.” Waiting may sometimes be unpleasant, but it is seldom unprofitable-and a delay is always better than disaster! Rousseau summarized it well when he said, “Patience is bitter, but its fruit are sweet.” St. Augustine added, “Patience is the companion of wisdom.” And the seventeenth writer Gracian said, “Hurry is the weakness of fools.” Learning to hear God’s voice is one thing that simply cannot be done in a hurry. Many of us have met those special saints who have learned to wait on God. They possess a sweet confidence and a solid assurance of Gods goodness-the sweet aroma of dignity that exudes confidence and assurance. They may be measured in their actions because they know that far more is often accomplished by waiting than by working. Oh, may we learn how to wait on God! Carried by God
Tonight I was looking for pictures for my youngest daughter for her poem book and I came across a picture of my carrying my middle daughter Kendall. She was in the water at the beach and was stung by a jelly fish and I was carrying her from the water to a towel that was on the beach. She was in was in such pain from the jelly fish. I laid her on the towel and did what I could do to stop the pain. As I was looking at this picture I thought of this verse Romans 8:35-37 “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulations, or distress, or persecutions, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. In Life we experience highs and lows, good times and bad-and we must understand that God is God in the valley and God on the mountaintop. You may know the story of the poem “Foot prints in the sand.” The speaker wonders why, during the most difficult times of life, there was only one set of footprints in the sand. Why had God left her alone in those trails and times of trouble? The Lord replied, “The times when you have seen only one set of footprints, is when I carried you. We experience hard times as individuals and collectively (we’ll never forget 9/11, for example), and many times people want to blame God. The truth is, the evil one puts such ideas into the hearts of men, but God is always there to help us get through the aftermath. Such times of tragedy provide a tremendous opportunity for Christians to show the love of God through words and deeds. Satan tries to use hard times to separate us from God, but hard times can actually push believers closer to God. The hardest challenges and deepest valleys force us to rely on God. During those struggles we realize He is always there and all we need. We learn in a new way that God’s grace is more than sufficient, that “we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” He Renews our Strength
I was running tonight and I was thinking about my Sister-in-law and her fight with Cancer. I remember going to see her and the fight she had going into surgery and after she came out. I remember talking to my brother and the things that she was going through and the battles she had to face. Even though the chemo was taking her strength away she never let it get to her. I watch her fight this fight and was amazed. I am watching a friend right now that I worked with fight this fight also and he is upbeat and keep his strength even though I know he has days where he feels like he doesn’t want to get out of bed just as my sister-in-law did but they continued to fine the strength to move forward with this fight. They never threw in the towel. It brought to my mind why do we throw in the towel so easy on things that we think are hard but compared to our Friends and Family members who fight Cancer its not. Where do they find there strength to fight this disease that could take their lives, but we throw in the towel on things that will not take our lives and are just small compared to this. I know my sister-in-law and my friend find their strength in our Father (God). Which brought me to Isaiah 40: 28-29 “Have you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength.” When we genuinely lift our hearts and prayers to God, He renews our Strength. Are you almost to weary to lift your head? Then bow it. Offer your concerns and your fears to your father in heaven. He is always at your side, offering His love and his Strength. Are you troubled or anxious? Take your anxieties to God in prayer. Are you weak and worried? Delve deeply into Gods Holy Word and sense His presence in the quiet moments of the day. Are you spiritually exhausted? Call upon fellow believers to support you, and call upon Christ to renew your spirit and your life. Your Savior will never let you down. To the contrary, He will always lift you up if you ask Him to. So what, dear friend, are you waiting for. So what things are we about to throw in the towel that we should give it to God and allow him to get us through it? |
AuthorJust a man who follows Christ and writes for fun.. Archives
September 2024
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