Storms

9-3-2010

Storms
Life is full of storms, they are inevitable, and it’s how we respond to the storms of our lives that lead to peace of mind, success, and a positive outcome. As I write this devotional another email just hit my inbox about an individual that just lost their job; people are searching for answers.

I ran into a guy I see frequently at the gym yesterday, and he randomly asked me if I was retired. Being that I don’t know this guy, I really didn’t know how to respond. He had just finished his workout and was putting his tie on when he asked, so I responded, “I don’t know if I’ll ever retire, I love what I do. Are you heading to work?” I will spare you the response, but he clearly didn’t want to go to work, and something like, “Ya, I’m stuck in the rat race and I guess I’ll die running it,” came out of his mouth.

There are so many people with the “I’m stuck in the rat race and WON’T get out mentality.” Remember, you will get what you expect to get, and as long as you live in fear mode you better be prepared for a lot of storms. There are times I wish I could jump inside people’s heads and change the way they think. If you aren’t happy where you are, do something different. It may take time to transition, and you may have to work double time until you are able to leave the job you have, but if you aren’t happy where you are, God may just do you a favor and let your employer remove you from the rat race.

Without warning, furious storms may hit your life, and for those that have a solid relationship with Christ, the storm comes and goes rather quickly with little stress. You are able to stay focused because you understand God knows what he’s doing. You know God closes one door because he has a much better door he wants you to go through.

For those of you that have wandered away from your spiritual growth, storms my hit a lot harder and last a lot longer. One thing I believe to be true is the storms of your life tend to bring you closer to God, while we tend to take him for granted when things are going great. We need to make sure once the storm passes we don’t fall back into the trap of taking God for granted. Learn from your mistakes and stay focused on your spiritual journey because there will be more storms.

Application:
1. Read Matthew 8:23-25
2.Are you prepared if a storm hits?
3.If you are in a storm, are you taking the right steps to free yourself?