-/\/\-----------------------------------------------------------------
\ / HEARTLIGHT(R) Magazine -- http://www.heartlight.org/
--\/------------------------------------------------------------------
March 8, 2009
/--- Sponsor a Child with Compassion -----------------------\
For less than a dollar a day, you can make a powerful
difference in the life of a needy child. Click on the
following link to learn more about sponsoring a child
through Compassion!
\--- http://ads.heartlight.org/email/92/ -------------------/
=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
From 'Now What?' to 'What's Next?', by Ron Rose
Preparation
At the end of the movie Matrix Revolutions, Agent Smith stands above a
beaten Neo and wonders aloud why his adversary continues to get up just
to be beaten down:
Why, Mr. Anderson? Why do you do it? Why get up? Why keep fighting?
Do you believe you're fighting for something? For more than your
survival? Can you tell me what it is? Do you even know? Is it
freedom? Or truth? Perhaps peace? Yes? No? Could it be for love?
Illusions, Mr. Anderson. Vagaries of perception. The temporary
constructs of a feeble human intellect trying desperately to
justify an existence that is without meaning or purpose. And all of
them as artificial as the Matrix itself, although only a human mind
could invent something as insipid as love. You must be able to see
it, Mr. Anderson. You must know it by now. You can't win. It's
pointless to keep fighting. Why, Mr. Anderson? Why? Why do you
persist?
Why indeed? Why do we get up? When we've experienced a setback, a major
health issue, a catastrophic loss, what is it that makes us get up?
What is it that makes us push through?
Answer: It's in our DNA; we are made to get back up.
In 1803 President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William
Clark on an adventure, an expedition up the Missouri River across the
Rockies and down to the Pacific Ocean and back. For months they studied
and planned. How many men? What skills? How big a boat? What design?
What type of rifles? How much powder and lead? How many cooking pots?
What tools? How much rations could be carried? What medicines? What
scientific instruments? What books? How many fishing hooks? How much
salt? Tobacco? Whiskey?
They expected to be gone for two years or more, totally cut off from
known civilization. There would be no incoming letters, no orders, no
fresh supplies, no reinforcements, nothing reaching them until they
returned. They had invested months in plans, but now as they left the
dock, they would find the plans were useless.
The process of planning -- thinking of the possibilities ahead -- was
vital, but the plans themselves proved worthless. Like Dwight
Eisenhower who lived more than a century later, they found that plans
are useless, but planning is indispensable. The unexpected changes on
the river rendered their plans inadequate. The adventure forced them to
adapt and taught them to expect surprise. They endured incredible
hardship in an unknown world. Why? Was it just a job?
No! Once we get up, we are made for adventure; we are put on this
planet for discovery. Lewis and Clark got to see the unseen and unknown
types of plants and animals. They got to meet strange new people. They
were able to view breathtaking grandeur. Together, they experienced the
new world firsthand, mapped it, wrote about it, and in the process were
transformed by it. These ordinary men quit asking "Now what?" and woke
up each morning wondering, "What's next?"
Are you hooked? Want answers? Got plans that seem useless? Have you
been knocked down? It's time to toss the plans and open your eyes. Get
up! He's ready to lift you. Remember it's in your DNA. Look outside the
box; expect something new. Faith is the ultimate expedition; it's
seeing the unseen, living beyond our circumstances. When we get knocked
off our feet, it's the perfect time to change our perspective and let
God lift us up. Then, if we let him, he will invade our imagination and
give us new discoveries.
So, the expedition begins.
Inspiration
This is your hands-on adventure into a new world.
It happened a few weeks ago, but the shock is still sinking in. The
conversation was short and somber. After eighteen years working a job
he loved, Steve was given his notice. He would get a 30-day severance
deal, but had to be out of his office by the end of the day. "I was
speechless," Steve said. "I knew things were slow, but I figured my job
was safe. After all, I'd given some of my best years to that company."
Steve had worked his way into management and dreamed that one day soon
he would be a Vice-President, but all that was gone, vanished in a
moment.
After a few uncomfortable seconds of silence, he protested, "Now what?
What am I going to do?" "Steve," I responded, "the question is not 'Now
what?' it's 'What's next?' First, you are going to get up ... God's
going to lift you. You can because God made you to get up. Second, once
up you are going to live a new adventure. You will re-assess your
worth, re-think your values, and re-live some memories. Then you will
get up and get started on the next chapter. We're not homesteading here
and we are not circling the wagons. Together, you and I are embarking
on a new expedition, an adventure. We will plan and scheme and prepare,
but in the end we will turn our imagination over to God and begin the
journey, wherever it leads. God has given us abilities and gifts and
good judgment and HIS presence and we will need them all as we blaze
new trails."
"We will make the trip together."
Motivation
When you are on an expedition it's always best to have a partner with
skin on. Got one? Can you be one?
Like Steve experienced, in one way or another, this is your year of
discovery; your year for a multifaceted, hands-on adventure into a new
world. This adventure will stretch your horizon, reshape your
worldview, introduce you to fascinating people, and leave you basking
in memories of holy "Kodak moments."
It may begin in pain and doubt, but God has great plans for you. So,
get up, give God your imagination, and gawk a little. There are unseen
things all around you.
We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith,
your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in
our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:3 TNIV).
---------
(c) 2009 FaithFitness and Ron Rose <ron@faithteam.org>.
RELATED LINKS:
* Don't Let Failure be Final
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200802/20080209_failurefinal.html
* Transforming Courage
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200102/20010228_courage.html
* Close Calls
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200108/20010809_closecalls.html
* Faith Team
http://www.faithteam.org
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200903/20090308_whatsnext.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
THE SECRET OF HAPPINESS, by Billy Graham
Teaches us to live above the circumstances of life and rest in the true
happiness God wants us to have.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?222
Find more great books, CDs and videos at the Heartlight store! With
each purchase you make, you're helping to support Heartlight's
ministry. Thanks SO MUCH for your help!
HEARTLIGHT DAILY EMAIL /\/\
===============================================================\ /===
http://www.heartlight.org/ \/
Visit HEARTLIGHT on the web for even more articles, plus music,
devotionals and more for your Christian walk!
ABOUT HEARTLIGHT:
Heartlight, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) religious non-profit organization.
Donations are welcome and tax-deductible! Find out how to help!
http://www.heartlight.org/support
EDITOR: Phil Ware, phil@heartlight.org
HOW DO I SUBSCRIBE?
It's FREE! To subscribe send a blank email to:
join-heartlight@maillists.heartlight.org
HOW DO I LEAVE?
To unsubscribe send a blank email to:
heartlight-unsub@maillists.heartlight.org
STILL HAVING TROUBLE?
If our automated unsubscribe system isn't working for you,
send an email to mailmaster@heartlight.org and let us know
what list you would like to leave. We'll take care of you.
======================================================================
