Thank Him...

Are there times when you just want to hide from everyone and everything... run away from home, from work, just run away from it all? Well, join the crowd!

At some point, so many of us want to do just that – run away. Maybe more than once, lol. Some of you may have even acted upon it. Cowards like me didn't have the courage. I would have been wondering what I was leaving behind or what was going on while I was away. But, if you had the strength to do so, okay… hopefully, you went back.

I guess that is why I spend each morning with my Coffee and Thee. Although I may have just arisen from a night's rest, that’s my unwinding time. It’s my time to be with my thoughts, my God, my space, and my coffee. To calm your ‘run away from it all’ spirit, I suggest that you pick your space and chill. Maybe, just maybe you can keep your sanity in the midst of it all.

 No doubt about it, life and things happen! There is NO escaping! But what you must do is “brace yourself for the unexpected. Then embrace it!” If you expected it, then you would not have allowed it to happen in the first place; especially if it had a negative effect on you or your livelihood. Anything you deem detrimental, you do everything within your power to block it, right?

I heard a sermon recently with a title that says it all. When you go through your trials and tribulations, realize this… ‘It Had to Happen’! Your highs, your lows, your distress, and despair – God is taking you down an unknown path and only He knows your final destination. Given the message he wanted to portray, the Minister elaborated in as eloquent a manner as possible - “Stop looking for the reason and start looking for the revelation!”  Start rejoicing and thanking Him!

What I’ve learned is, when something unexpected or drastic happens, we naturally seek answers and ask why.  Everything you deem as ‘going wrong’ is not necessarily going wrong. “He wouldn’t have brought you to it, if He couldn’t bring you through it.” Brace yourself and hunker down, because He may be preparing you for the ride of a lifetime.  But remember who is your pilot, your chauffeur, your navigator; you can make the worst thing that ever happened in your life, work for your best.

It’s hard to be grateful and thankful when everything around you seems to be in shambles. This is especially so, if you are the type of person who is the ‘leanee,’ instead of the leaner. Basically, you have been the one on whom everyone can depend … the confidante, spiritual adviser, a listening ear, the Rock of Gibraltar, the invincible one - need I go on? I’m sure you get the picture. So tell me, who do you go to when you’re in need of support? Do you deny yourself? Do you not open up? Are you repudiating the fact that you have problems or issues? Do you just hold it all in?

Well God knows us better than we know ourselves. He allows us to fall down sometimes so that we will understand exactly where our help AND the help of others, comes from when we get up. Psalm 121:1-2 KJV …from whence cometh my help. My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

There is just no escaping what God’s plan is for your life. Just let Him take the reins. Stop saying ‘thanks, but no thanks,’ when your little feeble mind tells you that you don’t need to go through the hardships you’re enduring. Let the chips fall where they may. Somehow, by way of those downfalls, you really will be able to help someone in dire need of support. The comfort you will be able to give will have been through experience and the BEST teacher.

So, take your punches and don’t run away. Instead, pick yourself up, pick your space and time, and give Him thanks for it all. Yes, it’s Thanksgiving time! Thank him for what you’ve been through AND as hard as it seems, what you are about to go through.

Blessings,

PJ Payne