In the workplace, we are very often surrounded by a myriad of circumstances that are out of our control and that my have a negative impact on what we are trying to accomplish.  What if instead of living each day plowing ahead with our agenda, our plans, our goals, we instead got out of the way and allowed God to take control.  Wonder what that would look like especially in relation to the many problems or circumstances we encounter each day.

I recently ran across a posting on one of the other blogs I read that really has stuck with me regarding the way I view my problems.  Check this out.

The problems you face will either defeat you or develop you — depending on how you respond to them. Unfortunately most people fail to see how God wants to use problems for good in their lives. They react foolishly and resent their problems rather than pausing to consider what benefit they might bring. Here are five ways God wants to use the problems in your life:

1. God uses problems to DIRECT you. Sometimes God must light a fire under you to get you moving. Problems often point us in a new direction and motivate us to change. Is God trying to get your attention?

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2. God uses problems to INSPECT you. People are like tea bags . . . if you want to know what’s inside them, just drop them into hot water! Has God ever tested your faith with a problem? What do problems reveal about you?

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3. God uses problems to CORRECT you. Some lessons we learn only through pain and failure. It’s likely that as a child your parents told you not to touch a hot stove. But you probably learned by being burned. Sometimes we only learn the value of something … health, money, a relationship . . . by losing it.

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4. God uses problems to PROTECT you. A problem can be a blessing in disguise if it prevents you from being harmed by something more serious. Last year a friend was fired for refusing to do something unethical that his boss had asked him to do. His unemployment was a problem — but it saved him from being convicted and sent to prison a year later when management’s actions were eventually discovered.

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5. God uses problems to PERFECT you. Problems, when responded to correctly, are character builders. God is far more interested in your character than your comfort. Your relationship to God and your character are the only two things you’re going to take with you into eternity.

Here’s the point: God is at work in your life — even when you do not recognize it or understand it. But it’s much easier and profitable when you do.

From Amazing Posts, Aug 2007

Psalms 107:13 “Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and he saved them out of their distresses.

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My friend Brad and I coach the Bulldogs, a 4^th grade basketball team that my son Tyler plays on. Brad does the real coaching. I try to be the CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer). In between two basketball games on Saturday, we were watching our players shoot around. One of our best inside players was launching 3-pointer after 3-pointer.

 

The reason that was interesting to us is that we have been working with this player for the last month to break some bad shooting habits. He had created some bad “muscle memory” from shooting all of those 3-pointers when he was younger. Along with his Dad, we have been trying to help him create the right muscle memory. But he was falling back. He was going back to his old ways when we weren’t there to coach him.

 

What does your spiritual muscle memory look like today?

 

More specifically, what does your faith at work muscle memory look like today?

 

It’s amazing how we may be working our spiritual muscles at home, but when we go to work we go right back to our old muscle memory. You know the one…no time for relationships, living in the ethical gray zone, enamored with money, our work/life balance completely out sync, God who?

 

Here are just a few very simple ideas to build positive faith at work muscle:

 

·         Work out every morning. Invest 5-30 minutes reading something that interests you in the Bible. Then pray. But, include your work. Pray for your meetings, your boss, your teammates, your words and actions.

 

·         Drink water. I have a friend who leads a company. He drinks 8 bottles of water a day. Guess how he creates positive muscle memory? He committed that every time he goes to the bathroom, he will pray. That’s 8 times a day. That’s muscle memory.

 

·         Skip a meal. Have you ever considered fasting through lunch? You will be amazed as you work through the afternoon how your soft hunger pangs will simply remind you of Christ.

 

·         Find a trainer. Start looking for a man or woman who you can look up to; who can coach you (whether they know they are coaching you or not).

 

Let’s get in better shape. Let’s work on our faith at work muscles.

 

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”

Mark 12:30 (NIV)

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Here at WorkMatters, we have stayed out of the political process as much as possible. Not that there have been some healthy discussions around the office over the past two years, but as you know, the political process used to pick a President is quite the ordeal. I would be interested in knowing if there is anyone out there who would like this process to be any longer.

Tomorrow is the day that collectively we exercise one of the most important rights we have as citizens of this great nation. As I sit here today and contemplate the privilege we have, the responsibility to get it right looms large. I’m sure that most of you reading this have already made up your mind and will be headed to the polls tomorrow. Please take this responsibility seriously and spend some time today and tomorrow in prayer for our nation.

Our heavenly Father’s sovereignty is over this election and he has appointed one to lead our nation. As you prepare to vote tomorrow, please ask for his wisdom and guidance for clarity and for your will to be in line with his will. Whether you agree or disagree with the outcome tomorrow night, Blessed be then name of the Lord. In ALL things, He is to be praised.

Now, one way we all hopefully try to stay sane in these very stressful and uncertain days is by trying to find the humor in it all. I am well aware that humor does not always work the same for everyone, but whatever it is, if you can find a way to live on the lighter side of it all, life can seem much more tolerable.

In that spirit, I was glad to see John McCain’s lighter side on Saturday Night Live. If you did not see it, I have included the link here. Sorry, but they have attached a little Starbucks ad in the beginning, but its actually not a bad offer if you vote tomorrow. Enjoy.

McCain on SNL

1 Peter 2:13 For the Lord’s sake, accept all authority—the King as head of state, and the officials he has appointed.

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