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I was concentrating so hard on my work that I never noticed it was getting harder for me to breathe. I rose to grab a cup of coffee and was shocked that my head swam so much I staggered. Suddenly chills ran over me and I knew that the bug going around was not satisfied with just taking up residence in my chest, but had to have my head, too.

I didn’t have time to get sick. So many things had to be done, work had to be fed into the pipeline so others could do their job. So I sucked it up and kept plodding along. Never mind that it took twice as long to do what I needed to do. Never mind that the words on my computer swam around so nothing made any sense. I thanked God that I had worked a couple of hours the Sunday before because my body gave out and I collapsed. After my two hour nap, I pushed through. You can always find the energy to push through when you believe it is crucial.

That’s the problem, isn’t it?

How often do we set things aside that God has designed for us to do so that we can do the things that we think may be more important? Set something like writing a column aside so that you can clean off your desk for next week’s work? Set something like leading a Bible study aside so you don’t have to work so late on Thursdays, or so you can build up some comp time to take off at Christmas? So you keep on working even though your body is telling you to stop; it’s sick; it needs medicine and rest.

Then another bomb goes off.

Out of the blue my boss tells me that he needs the whole team in one spot, that working remotely from my home wasn’t working because he felt they needed daily interaction. Come January I’m looking for another job. Wow! Going from “evaluation” to “separation” inside an hour is bone-jarring especially when every fiber in my being was extra sensitive from fever and sickness.

It would be so easy to get on the Anger Bitter train and head for Self Pity. Anger and bitterness are energy wasters, and self pity is nothing but a waste of time. Maybe that was why God allowed the bomb to drop this week, because I had no extra energy for anything but trying to get well.

For the next six weeks I will train the person who will take my place. The opportunity to offer wisdom and knowledge to a younger soul should never be taken lightly. It is a tremendous opportunity from God.

We should be very jealous of the time we devote to the work that God trusts us with. We should be asking Him daily to manage our time. When we allow things to slip away, or to take the place of what He wants done, we run the risk of Him taking away other things. Is that what God did here with my job? No, I don’t think so. He had already let me know in my spirit not to get comfortable, that this wasn’t permanent. However, this jolt woke me up to several facts.

There is always tomorrow. No matter how rushed or crunched for time you are, very rarely will something blow up if you handle it tomorrow instead of in the next minute.

There is always time for 10 minutes of exercise. Get on that exercise bike, or take that walk, or dance to some music. It gives the mind time to change gears, refreshes the body, and keeps it healthy.

Trust that God is bigger than any problem and He knows what He’s doing. You may think the world is falling apart, but God may just be rearranging things because of a stupid decision you made or that someone close to you made. We do have choices. He is always intensely interested in what is best for us, so trust that no matter what.

Give God the glory. It is truly exciting to see how God works things to good for all who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Situations that seem impossible to surmount to us, are not even as large as a grain of sand to our mighty God. He does things and allows things for His glory. Bask in that light and reflect it back into this dark world. We serve a mighty and glorious God. To Him be glory and honor and praise forever and ever, amen!

"Point of Reference" from Fred Price

Called To Brokenness