Thursday, February 9, 2012

How To Wait Patiently (Part 2)


 I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry. He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the LORD. How blessed is the man who has made the LORD his trust, And has not turned to the proud, nor to those who lapse into falsehood. Many, O LORD my God, are the wonders which You have done, And Your thoughts toward us; There is none to compare with You. If I would declare and speak of them, They would be too numerous to count.  Psalm 40:1-5

Crash!!
Too many people today feel that their life is headed toward a crash.  Their life feels a train headed directly toward down the track toward another coming the opposite direction and there is really nothing they can do to stop it from happening.  For them, a crash seems inevitable.

The crash may be a clash of personalities in a marriage or at work. The crash may be a financial collapse or an employment crash.  Whatever it is, for them, life seems to have come unglued and untracked.  They feel as if they are "partly on track" and "partly off track."  The final decision of where they will end up is yet to be decided. 

Could that be how you feel today?  Maybe you feel as if you have gotten off track or that something is missing in your life and you just don't know what it is.  Maybe you feel like you are about to crash.  Is there any way to stop the crash before it happens?  By all means, there is hope! Let me say that again. There is hope.  There is an answer.  There is a way out. A crash in your life does not have to happen. 
How can we move beyond merely surviving and start thriving? Here are three ways. 
·      Capitalize on the opportunities God provides for us - Opportunities only become opportunities when we embrace them as opportunities.  God may offer and offer something to us; however, if we refuse to accept it, the opportunity will be missed. An opportunity must be seized, grabbed, accepted and acted on to bring benefit.
·      Minimize the negative voices that clatter around us - We must never try to please those who would criticize us. Why? Simple. We will never be able to do so. 
·      Exercise the faith available to us –Paul told us in Philippians 4:6, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."  Trust God, put your faith in Him and He will take care of you.

Genuine faith is contagious faith. Genuine faith cannot wait to tell others, to point others to God, to follow Jesus.  Stop settling for less!  Stop muddling through life partly on track and partly off track. Don't just survive...thrive! Thrive through Jesus Christ and your faith in Him.

Scripture to Claim:
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised, And I am saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:2-3

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