Nobody likes change unless you are talking about changing the sheets on your bed; I love the smell and feel of freshly clean sheets on the bed that are still warm from coming out of the dryer. Curling up in the clean sheets and falling asleep knowing that you are going to have a great nights sleep. Man that's the best! Other than some of life's small pleasures like clean sheets change is something that most people avoid at all costs. People are naturally bent towards keeping the status quo and doing everything they can to stay comfortable, contained in their own little box, sealed inside their own predictable world. We all enjoy watching TV shows filled with drama and suspense but when it happens to us the fear of the unknown is sometimes too much to bear and we feel like the walls are caving in all around us. In the business world of today's economic downturn a lot of businesses are driven by fear of change and their business decisions reflect that fear. Owners have been accustomed to a certain level of success and growth over the past 20 years and they are unwilling to resign themselves to a lower standard of living because they view that as failure. The wealthy of this country, business owners and others, are not willing to accept that the lifestyle and money that they have been used to making isn't a reasonable or realistic goal anymore because of the downturn in the market and the mass exodus of consumers out of the marketplace. The rich want to stay rich and get richer like they are used to and when that is challenged by a failing economy, when the thought that they might not get to buy that new Jag or be able to afford their multi-million dollar penthouse anymore they cease to care about anything else other than how to save money and save their current lifestyle. Growth ceases to exist as well. You can't be concerned about the present suffering if you are focused on growing in the future. You have to be willing to take 1 step back now to take 2 steps forward down the road. Ultra rich people generally are obsessed with money because they find their security in the fact that they can afford to do anything they want and they get their identity from the things they own, where they live and the prestige and power that comes from being wealthy. The thought of losing any of those things is like losing their life because that is what they consider most important in this world. The pursuit of money is an addiction that can be unrecognized until you start losing it and then it comes to the surface raging and screaming, causing you to make decisions and do things that are without reason or logical thought. Decisions based on the fear of losing money are never going to be good decisions because they are self preservative and don't include thought about the future or the people in the business who ultimately are making it profitable to begin with. Self preservation halts growth because it causes you to lose sight of the big picture and only focus on the immediate danger of the short term. Pastor Keith Craft made a statement at church a few weeks ago that says,"Change will happen with or without you." This statement is very true and when you make business decisions based on the fear of losing money, sacrificing the very people who have kept the company floating through good times and bad you are using a band-aid to fix a broken arm. Sacrificing the future growth of the business for the short term savings will wind up costing you more money in long run.
On a personal level change is just as unwelcome. Nobody likes to change their routine and habits are extremely hard to alter. They say it takes 2 weeks to develop a habit or change a habit to a new habit. Nobody will change on their own unless they have to or they are pushed into it by somebody else because change can be a painful experience no matter what you are talking about. Changing a job can be one of the most difficult and gut wrenching things in a persons life that ever happens to them especially if they are married and have children. When a man loses his job it's like someone tied a huge stone around his neck, threw him in the river and told him he needs to get to the other side before he sinks. The responsibility a man has to provide for his family and take care of them is something so huge that when he loses his job he feels like a failure and he loses confidence in himself. Losing a job can make a man feel like he isn't good enough or that he is a fool, undeserving of respect in his own home or preceiving that he isn't respected anymore because he failed to provide. Change can be very painful especially if it is prolonged for a long period of time or if there are circumstances that compound the situation like sickness or looming debt that catches up to them in their poverty. A man that can be comfortable in a mansion or in an apartment eating microwave dinners is the kind of man that I want to be and the kind of man that I want my son to be.
How do people deal with change? You have 1 of 2 choices when it comes to change; you can either run from it or embrace and accept it for what it is and the reality it brings along with it. Running from change is pointless unless you can somehow twist the change that is coming at you into something else before it happens; but either way you look at it things are still going to change. Having the courage and faith to accept change when it happens and trusting that you will be ok regardless of what happens comes from being content no matter what happens. It's being content with what you have and being able to live in any circumstance knowing that you will be happy because you have all that you need. I am able to say that today because I have a strong faith in the God of the Universe and because I know I am a son of the Most High God in heaven and that His son Jesus Christ has got my back and He has saved me and my family. The faith that I have in God gives me hope for today and hope for the future because I know I am right where I am supposed to be which is in the will of God. I know in my heart and in my mind that God has a plan for my life and that sometimes you have to go Through the Vally, you have to endure hard times and pain to get to where you need to go; to the place where your blessings are waiting for you. God is leading me through the valley right now but I am not worried or scared because I know He has a plan for me and not just for another job but for the BEST JOB I could want, somewhere I will be appreciated and a place where I can grow and be motivated to be the best I can be. God sees the forest where I can only see the trees right in front of me. Too often people scramble when tragedy strikes and they just run to the first thing they can and settle for good when they could have waited and had faith that God wanted to lead them past "good" and onto what was "BEST" for them where He could bless them more abundantly.
I am only interested in God's best for my life and for the life of my family. We are trusting God in Jesus' name that He is leading us to the land of milk and honey, where He will open up the heavens and pour out blessings on our family so great that we won't even have room for them all; a good measure, pressed down, shaken together and over flowing with Joy and Love. That's the kind of life that I want for myself and for every member of my family and even if it hurts for awhile and we have to give up some of the things that we like to have in the present we are looking forward to the future and thanking God for the Mighty work that He is going to do for us. Faith comes from Under-standing the word of God and the promises that He has made to His children. As a Son of the Most High God I am privileged and favored in the sight of the Lord, He makes His face to shine upon me and lights my path in the midst of darkness. I only need to have enough light to see where to put my foot for my next step because I have faith that He is leading me in the right direction. I have "understanding" of His words to me and His love for me; I have put that faith under myself and I am standing upon it (understanding) reaching Higher and Higher above the normal waiting for God's SuperNormal and His Best to come that He has planned for me. This Under-Standing lifts me up and gives me hope where most people lose their faith and start to feel sorry for themselves. I refuse to feel sorry for myself because I have nothing to fear but fear itself and fear doesn't affect me anymore because I have the God of the Universe on my side so who can touch me? Nobody!!
Change is a powerful force that has the ability to break people down or push them to rise to new heights and accomplish things that they never thought were possible. My faith in God gives me the ability to be free from worry and guilt; to look beyond my current situation and circumstances and not give into the natural tendency people have to think about what might happen. I am looking forward to what God has in store for me and my family and I am willing to suffer to reach the destination that God is leading me toward. I count myself blessed and honored to be used by God and to have Him care enough about me to lead me out of a failing situation and move me into the place where I can receive His blessings more abundently. I am going to continue to believe Him for that and work hard no matter what. I am going to accept change, not run from it and I am going to be content no matter what happens. Everything I have can be replaced except that which is most important to me, and that can never be taken away from me or lost. I am blessed to have a wonderful family, a beautiful wife and an incredible little boy to call my son; I have 2 families who are always going to be there for me and who are so supportive and I have my Father in Heaven leading the way to the promised land. These things cannot be taken away no matter what kind of job I have or don't have, no matter where I live or what kind of car I drive or how much money I have in the bank. I am rich no matter what happens and I am so blessed. I pray the same for all of you. Trust God no matter what happens. It's in the hard times that faith is grown. Allow God to work in your life and trust that He has your best interests in mind and that Good things are coming your way and it will be so. God bless you all today!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment