Difficult To Predict!

It has been noted how frustrating it can be when the same snows that provide superb conditions for skiing in the mountains can also keep the skiers from getting there. We have dealt with snow and ice here in our area for several days. Though we have not been impacted as drastically as some other parts of our state, there have still been a number of activities scheduled on my calendar that ended up either being canceled or postponed. Fortunately I do most of my study and work on a laptop computer so I have been able to keep up with all of that whether I was able to make it into the church office or not.

It was known that cold temperatures and moisture were moving in, but it was still not easy for weather forecasters to predict exactly how various areas were going to be impacted. Therefore, around our state cars were abandoned and then towed from highways and some roads were closed completely. Power was lost by some for several days due to the weight of snow bringing large branches or whole trees down on power lines. Such situations can be prepared for, but knowing exactly how they will be experienced is still an unknown. In spite of the best planning there are some things out of our control.

James stated…
“(13) Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit’ -- (14) yet YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT TOMORROW WILL BRING. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. (15) Instead you ought to say, ‘IF THE LORD WILLS, we will live and do this or that.’” ( James 4:13-15 ESV)

To plan as if we are the one in complete control is where we go wrong. To plan in such a way is actually a sign of arrogance. To plan in accordance with whatever the LORD WILLS is a sign of submission and trust. This also provides something more secure to hold onto and aid us in pressing on.

As I sat pondering this thought I was reminded of the following that my oldest son recently e-mailed me.

+++++++++++
THE STOCKDALE PRINCIPLE
Retain faith that you will prevail in the end, regardless of difficulties.
AND, at the same time
Confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.

Admiral Jim Stockdale was the highest-ranking U.S. military officer in a prisoner-of-war camp in Hanoi during the Vietnam war. During his eight years in captivity he was tortured over twenty times and never given a hint as to when he would be released. In the prison, he dutifully led the other prisoners, secretly creating codes of communication and working for the highest possible survival rate.

When Jim Collins, author of “Good to Great”, asked Stockdale how he managed to survive, he replied: “I never doubted not only that I would get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining event of my life, which, in retrospect, I would not trade."

From the book:
“Who didn't make it out?”
“Oh that's easy,” he said. “The optimists.”
“The optimists? I don't understand,” I said, now completely confused.
“The optimists. Oh, they were the ones who said, ‘We're going to be out by Christmas.’ And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they’d say, ‘We’re going to be out by Easter.’ And Easter would come and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart.”

Another long pause and more walking. Then he turned to me and said, “This is the important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end—which you can not afford to lose—with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
To this day I carry the mental image of Stockdale admonishing the optimists: “We’re not getting out by Christmas; deal with it!”

“Life is unfair--sometimes to our advantage, sometimes to our disadvantage. We will all experience disappointments and crushing events somewhere along the way, setbacks for which there is no “reason,” no one to blame… What separates people, Stockdale taught me, is not the presence or absence of difficulty, but how they deal with the inevitable difficulties of life.”
+++++++++++

We may not know what tomorrow holds because of so many variables in this life: weather, health, other’s actions, etc. Also, we can only deal with tomorrow as it comes. God will be faithful to His promises. May we keep our trust in the One Who holds tomorrow in His hands, knowing that as the LORD WILLS we will ultimately be blessed!

Have a great day KEEPING FAITH IN THE COMPLETELY FAITHFUL ONE!
Carl

See other teEn-MAIL on Faith