Oh, about that Perfect Mindset ...

I had a sense of it the moment he walked through the door.

He wasn’t at all himself. 

Being in a remote office, I’d only met the new CEO of our company a few times, but I could tell something was amiss.

He was always a little edgy and hurried.  But this time he was distracted, agitated, and what?  Anxious?

It wasn’t much of a surprise when I sat down with him in the conference room and, after a few moments of awkward discussion, he got down to the business of closing our small office.

We were to shut down operations immediately.  He then continued to meet with each of the rest of our small team, one-by-one explaining their terms of severance (credit to him for doing that himself). 

As I went about the work of closing out projects while those meetings were going on, I had one particular thought in mind.  More on that in a moment.

By the time our CEO had completed his business it was going on 2pm.  No one had had lunch, and so our miserable little band went down to the ground floor restaurant.  It was a rainy March Tuesday.  Fitting.  The restaurant was as dreary and empty as our spirits.  We had the place to ourselves.

We did our best to have a reasonably pleasant lunch, while our minds were each in their own way racing with thoughts of “what next?”   When it was time to get up from the table I pushed back my chair and, to my surprise, bumped into someone seated behind me.  The place was otherwise completely empty, the last thing I expected was someone directly behind me. 

And I really didn’t expect that someone to be my dear friend Bob.  In his wheelchair.  Bob’s ALS had gotten to the point that the wheelchair was a must.  Bob, as you might imagine, is one of my personal sources of inspiration of a person’s ability to overcome adversity through faith in God.

What was he doing at that restaurant at 3pm on a rainy Tuesday? 

As it turns out, an out-of-town friend called Bob’s wife that morning to ask if they were available to meet for a late lunch.  Bob’s wife looked for a restaurant that was convenient for their friend’s itinerary, and that was the only reason they ended up there - they’d never set foot in the establishment before.

In other words, it was a humdinger of a coincidence for Bob to be there.  I once took a stab at the compounded probabilities and ended up on the order of 100-million-to-one for Bob, of all people, to be seated right behind me, in that dreary restaurant, the day my office was laid off.

Oh – about that one particular thought that was going through my mind earlier in the day…

“Lord?  I wonder how you are going to work this all out?”

I take no credit for that – it was pure grace that rather than being consumed with anxiety (What would happen to my co-workers?  What would happen to me?) I was instead filled with a sense of expectation that somehow God would work things out.

Little did I know that God would soon give me a sign, in an otherwise-empty restaurant, that He was at work behind the scenes and would, indeed, work things out.

And, eventually, everyone landed on their feet.

And I was taken in a much different direction than I ever would have imagined – including sitting here and writing these daily emails with my wife.

Losing a job when you have a family to support is serious enough.  But I know many of you are facing trials much greater.

Still, one of the best mindsets we can have is, “Lord, I can’t wait to see how you work this out.”

Here are two reasons why (among many):

1. It is an act of complete trust in God’s omnipotence – that He is permitting the trial to happen and is in control of the outcome.
2. It is an act of complete trust in God’s goodness – that He is permitting the trial so that He can bring greater good from it, no matter how difficult things may be in the present moment.

St. Peter, when he was sinking into the waters cried out, “Lord, save me!”  Peter went on to experience first-hand that God would always be by his side; working things for good.  And so years later, as an old man, that same Peter would famously write, “Cast all your worries upon Him because he cares for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)

Blessings on your journey with Christ –

Steve

Steve and Karen Smith

Interior Life

Postscript:  Matthew 14:22-33

After he had fed the people, Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.  After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.  When it was evening he was there alone.

Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it.  During the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified.  "It is a ghost," they said, and they cried out in fear.  At once Jesus spoke to them, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."  Peter said to him in reply, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."  He said, "Come."

Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus.  But when he saw how strong the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"

Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught Peter, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?"

After they got into the boat, the wind died down. Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, "Truly, you are the Son of God."