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There are many moments in life where a problem, a trial or a situation
arises that we just don't have the answer to. We become discouraged,
frustrated and think that this situation can never be resolved. What we
must always remember and keep in mind is that every problem has a solution
and every situation can be remedied. We simply must have the right
attitude and have a proper perspective that all will be well in the end.
When we think back on the trials that have come our way in the past, we
can remember how those trials were resolved in ways that we hadn't
imagined and knowing this will make us have confidence in our present
situations. Sometimes we just need a simple reminder showing us that
every negative situation doesn't have to be to our detriment. We can
learn the lessons, become wiser because of them and we can use what we've
learned for our betterment now and in the future to come.
Be encouraged to look at every negative situation with renewed and
refreshed eyes. Seek counsel from those who have traveled down the path
that you are currently on and see how they handled a similar situation.
When the Bible says that we should ask, seek and knock and the door will
be opened unto us, I believe the Lord was speaking for us to seek Him in
prayer, but I also believe it is pertinent in this physical world as
well. When we don't have the answer to something it is okay to ask
someone who does, to seek those who have traveled down the same path and
to knock on the doors of those who may be able to help us resolve our
situation. There is strength in numbers and the more help we receive, the
quicker a resolution can come our way. (Luke 11:9-13)
I encourage you again to see that it is to your benefit to seek counsel
when you need to. Know that others care greatly for your well-being and
wish to see you doing well. The Lord will always be faithful to put the
right people in our path at the right time to bring us the right answer.
The Lord has never failed in the past so have confidence that He won't
fail you now.
I hope this message inspires and challenges your heart to see that
solutions can always come our way in the most unexpected ways and we just
have to be open and allow ourselves to think outside of the box.
TURN THE PAPER SIDEWAYS
Sometimes I need to approach a persistent problem with a new way of
thinking. The Spanish poet Juan Ramón Jiménez said, “If they give you
ruled paper, write the other way.” His image reminds me to always be my
own person, but it also challenges me to think creatively. Turning the
paper sideways is like looking at situations from different angles.
Henry L. Mencken said it first: “For every complex problem, there is a
solution that is simple, neat and wrong.” And how often I am determined to
keep pounding on that simple and neat solution until I make it work, or
else I finally give up altogether. But success will surprisingly come when
I decide to look at the thing from a wholly different perspective.
Several all night convenience stores in New York City learned something
about viewing problems another way. Evidently, some of the stores had a
problem with teenagers hanging out in their parking lots late into the
night. Not that they didn't like kids; they liked them very much. But
customers complained that they were afraid to approach them in the dark
and push through them to enter the store. Neighbors complained that
couldn't sleep with the noise. And store personnel were worried about the
well-being of the young people themselves. Late at night, these
neighborhoods were unsafe.
Managers tried various methods to solve the problem. They asked the kids
to find a safer place to congregate. They asked them to move away from the
doors so customers didn't have to push through them. They asked them to
discard their cigarette butts and trash in outdoor receptacles and not
litter the parking lot. Each solution was simple, neat and completely
ineffective. It seems that any of them should have worked. But none of
them did and many of the store managers eventually gave up in frustration
on solving the problem.
Finally, one man came up with an unusual idea. He decided he had been
approaching the situation all wrong. Asking the teens to change their
behavior didn't work, so he tried something different. He just piped
easy-listening music into the parking lot -- slow, soothing instrumentals
especially suited for mature listeners.
No more loitering.
Sometimes we just need to look at things differently. Again and again we
butt up against the same old problem. It may involve a child or parent, a
friend or lover. It might be a problem with a co-worker. Maybe it's just a
complex situation we're working through, or a personal problem with which
we can't seem to make any headway. And so far, everything we've tried has
failed. Perhaps it's time to turn the paper around and write the other
way; to look at the problem a whole new way.
Here's a good question to ask: “How can I come at this thing from a
different angle?” Because there is likely something you're not seeing.
A father and his daughter were stopped by a flight attendant before
boarding their plane. The problem? The little girl was clutching a large
bouquet of balloons. In sympathetic tones, the attendant told the child
that she would not be permitted to travel with all of the balloons. “Only
one is allowed per passenger,” she said in a voice that concluded there's
nothing to be done. After all, rules are rules.
Father and daughter decided they could each carry one. So with tears in
her eyes, the little child selected her two favorite balloons for the
flight. But before she could discard the rest, another passenger
intervened. “Here, I'll take one,” he said. He quickly saw a solution to
the problem and proceeded to give one balloon to anybody in line who would
take one. As she disembarked, every balloon was returned to the happy child.
Here was a man who just looked at the problem a different way. Instead of
saying, “There's nothing be done,” he turned the paper sideways and the
answer was clear.
When you turn your paper sideways, what do you see?
By Steve Goodier
Read and meditate on these scriptures:
Isaiah 41:10-13 “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I
am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will
uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold, all they that
were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded: they shall be
as nothing; and they that strive with thee shall perish. Thou shalt seek
them, and shalt not find them, even them that contended with thee: they
that war against thee shall be as nothing, and as a thing of nought. For I
the Lord thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I
will help thee.”
Joshua 1:9 “Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be
not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee
whithersoever thou goest.”
Psalm 28:6-8 “Blessed be the Lord, because He hath heard the voice of my
supplications. The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in
Him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my
song will I praise Him. The Lord is their strength, and He is the saving
strength of His anointed.”
Psalm 16:8-11 “I have set the Lord always before me: because He is at my
right hand, I shall not be moved. Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory
rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. For Thou wilt not leave my
soul in hell; neither wilt Thou suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.
Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of Joy; at
Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.”
All of these scriptures can be found in the King James Version Bible.
Today’s Selected Poem: TEN RULES FOR A HAPPY DAY
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/inpoem133.htm
Today’s Selected Testimony: GOD SAVED MY DAD
Click here to read --- http://www.Godswork.org/testimony144.htm
In Christ’s Service,
Dwayne Savaya
God’s Work Ministry |
