In our church, we began our annual month long “Hope in a House of Blues” where we explore the fact that this world IS a house of blues and the only hope is in God. It was an incredible weekend of study, challenge and some of the world’s best blues music (the place was rocking).
(Mike here: Today's post is from Russell Justice, an LFC Ministry Partner, Men's group leader, international bussiness executive, and marriage coach. He is a man of wisdom and faith that looks for God in every day of life. And sure enough he finds Him. Russell publishes a newsletter each month called Mr. Whiskers. This is his entry from two weeks ago)
As you might expect, the weekend included discussions of the hard things (and times) in our life. It reminded me of a lesson learned many years ago from David Jeremiah about hard things and how to deal with them. David’s suggestions resonated with me, stuck with me, and have been helpful through the years.
When “rocks” (hard things) come into our lives there are 3 ways we can deal with them:
1) Kick them. Get angry. Curse them. Despise them. Rail against them. Why did this happen to me? Why am I going through this?
2) Throw them - at others. Blame others. Become discouraged.
3) Arrange them - before God - as an altar. Learn from the experience. Be trained by it. Grow through the struggling. (Like muscles that are built by stretching and stressing.)
These hard times are too painful to repeat. We want to get the lesson the first time if possible, without having to go around the block again.
What is your “rock”, your hard thing? Name it! What are you doing with it – kicking it, throwing it or arranging it before God? Don’t carry your rock around; it’s heavy and will wear you out. Tell someone about the rock. Share the load. Make it into an altar before God and ask Him to show you the lesson, the truth, the wisdom to be gained from the hurt and the pain of the experience.
Russell Justice January 2012 (signup for his newsletter by emailing russelljustice@earthlink.net )
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