Everyday Ritual

Okay...I was trying to catch up with some stuff on TiVo this morning after dropping Ms. Divine off at school. I have been watching a series of sermons by John Haggai and somehow I had seen the first installment then skipped to the third installment so this morning I got the second one. He had a list of things (10) on how to get through a problem. The first one jumped out at me immediately. He said that you have to take responsibility for what you did to be in this problem.

That is something that took me a long time and a lot of praying to fully understand. There are times when it really does seem that through no fault of your own, that a problem has dropped down on your head. BUT, most times, if you really think about it...it has occurred because you made a stupid decision. It could be something like going to a part of town that is questionable OR going somewhere at a time that was not the best to go, etc.

There are other problems that occur that may not really be meant to be a problem but you can't see it. For instance, consider the man that was late getting started for work because he had to drop his son off at daycare and the son took too long eating his breakfast. And because he was late getting to work, he wasn't in those Twin Towers when they collapsed. Now...he can see how his 'problem' kept him out of the way of a much larger problem. If you get in a fender bender on the way down the road, you may never know just what that problem saved you from! Or how that problem forced you off in a different direction that kept you from stepping into a worse problem. Maybe God was trying to get your attention! You may never know.

For the things we can figure out...I have taken to sitting with my family and talking it through. Just what was Your/Our part in getting into this problem? Identify/rectify/learn. If we cannot identify it, then at least try to identify why this problem MIGHT have occurred. If we can't identify that, then that is where faith comes in...have faith that God has a reason. Have faith that God will get you through it. Thank God that He is there and has the reigns.

This takes daily reminding sometimes. But like locking the door of the house each time you leave, it will become a part of your normal, everyday ritual.