The Bob Gass Devotional - The Word for Today - for Wednesday, January 21st and Thursday, January 22nd, 2015: Get Out of the Box He brought me...into a large place... because He delighted in me. Psalm 18:19 KJV Melody Beattie says: ‘First you crawled; then you learned to walk and the world grew bigger. Then you rode a bike…drove a car…bought a plane ticket. Suddenly the horizons were limitless. Then doubts crept in: I can’t (you fill in the blank)…and your world shrinks a little. I shouldn’t take that trip…I’ll never find my way around…I’ve too many responsibilities. And it shrinks a little more…[until] you’re sitting in a little box with the lid tightly affixed. No experiences, no lessons, no life. Boxes can be comfortable…but no matter how cozy you make it, it’s still a box. They come in all shapes and sizes. When we let unrealistic fears hold us back we can be fairly certain we’re climbing inside another box…and sooner or later we’ll run into the walls. Find one small “I can’t” in your life and take the lid off the box… try for a minor impossibility… apply for that dream job… start pursuing your vision… Poke the top off your box. Stick your head out and look around. Find a fear and turn it into a ladder. Get out of the box of doubt and insecurity and into the freedom of courage and belief.’ If you let it, fear will cause your imagination to run riot. But ‘God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.’ (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV) A sound mind restores your perspective and helps you see things from God’s viewpoint, where all things are possible. Today He wants to give you the courage to climb out of the box and bring you ‘into a large place’, because He ‘delights’ in you. -- Life Is About Choices (1) Daniel resolved not to. Daniel 1:8 NIV When Daniel was taken prisoner to Babylon, he was quickly promoted to leadership in the king’s palace. But as a Jew he refused to ‘defile himself with the royal food and wine’. Could his choice have affected his career, or even cost him his life? Absolutely! But what we choose to do under pressure results from one of two things: (1) Clearly established convictions we live by. (2) Fuzzy convictions we’re willing to compromise for personal gain. Hard times don’t make you, they reveal you! In Leadership Gold John Maxwell writes: ‘After visiting twenty cities in seven days, it was good to be coming home! As the small private jet approached the runway, we were celebrating the success of the week. Then, in a moment, everything changed. The plane was hit by crosswinds and dropped straight down to the runway, the wheels hitting out of balance. All conversation stopped and our eyes widened as we realized we were in danger. The pilot, without hesitation, pushed the throttle and launched the plane back into the air… We all realized that could have been it! We sat quietly as the plane circled the airfield and a few minutes later we landed safely.’ As he got off the plane, John asked the captain, ‘When did you make the decision to put the plane back into the air?’ He replied, ‘Fifteen years ago.’ He went on to explain how as a young pilot in training, he decided in advance what decision he would make for every possible air problem. His decision was made long before the crisis. So have a game plan in place before the problem arises.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 01:31:56 +0000
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