It seems that every day I see someone posting in local social media groups about their financial struggles in today’s economy with all the inflation, asking how other people are doing it. They express frustrations about not being able to find work, how nobody is hiring, or how the work they do find just doesn’t pay enough.
World news is gloomy, too. Inflation is at an all time high. Political unrest. National contention.
But while many people are watching the news with white knuckles, some view today’s historic events with peace of mind, even if they’re feeling the pinch themselves. One reason is because of a particular “setting” in their “thinker”. Also, a lot can be learned from what happened on New England’s Dark Day…
The fact is, that every adversity has the seed of equal or greater benefit. By the law of Polarity, the tougher the challenge, the more incredible the opportunity. Not everyone suffers equally through national or global challenges. Even during the depression, not everyone struggled. There will always be people who thrive during hard times, and they aren’t typically the ones who look for advice from the 10:00 news.
How we choose to react to circumstances will always determine how well we will fare in the long run.
Consider this:
- The very poor think day to day
- The poor think week to week
- The middle class think month to month
- The rich think year to year, and
- The very rich think decade to decade
How do YOU think?
The longer-term vision you have, the easier it is to endure unwanted blips in the road.
Sure, even if you think long-term, you still have to face short term decisions. So, how should you approach your day, today? How do you deal with it if your family (or even the country) seems to be on the verge of disaster?
The answer: do your best in the moment to be solution-focused. Solve the problem right in front of you, but with your mind set on long term results. Don’t expect the tide to turn on a dime. Face today’s problem with patient resolve, even if it may take ten years or more to get through it. Make peace with the potentially long journey ahead, but do today’s duty honorably today.
New England’s Dark Day
I think of New England’s Dark Day of 1780, when the sun went dark for hours, and many feared that it was the end of the world. With only primitive communication methods, the cause of the darkness was inexplicable, and stirred up fear in the community of religious citizens who concluded that it may very well be the end of the world.
A member of the legislature in Connecticut meeting that day, Abraham Davenport, addressed his colleagues’ concerns, communicating his position that whether it was the end of the world or not, he didn’t know. But what he did know was that he had a duty to perform, and rather than recoil in fear, he chose to meet his Lord while confidently carrying out the duty he knew was his responsibility to perform in that moment.
He would let God perform his work, while pressing forward with his own duties. His words to the men were that they must carry on, even in the darkness of that day, and told them to, “bring in the candles.”
Are you dealing with difficult news?
Whether or not the bad news in your life today really does mark the end of happier times as you know it or not, you still have a duty to perform here and now, and so do I. Even when darkness swirls about us, we must bring in the candles and press on. Stay focused on this moment and your own victory, and let the hopeful images of eventual success fill your mind. Do what is within your power here and how, and trust God to keep leading you to the solutions you need, and trust they will show up for you at the right time. Until they do, do something to move the needle yourself.
Pray like it depends on God, but act like it all depends on you.
The last thing you need is to picture the impending disaster and add emotion to those images. Even worse if the masses are doing this with national or global bad news. But since we cannot control everyone’s thoughts, the best thing we can do is to control our own. That is the best way to get through every challenge. What other approach could yield anything better?
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- The Rare Faith Book – Part 1 - November 20, 2024
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