Florence Scovel Shinn

I have been there. I was near something big that I didn’t even know was there. All I saw was failure. I saw that I couldn’t go on. I saw that I wasn’t worth the fight.

Of course, God had a  plan for me, and I wasn’t looking up. I was looking down. I wasn’t praying, I was having pity parties.

Then when the storm finally cleared, I saw that everything thing that happened was for a reason. I was on the right path all the time. God planned each step for me, and allowed the storm to rage until I finally fell to my knees and told Him I couldn’t take it anymore. He then picked me up, and carried me the rest of the way.

Let me make something very clear. The path I am on still isn’t easy. There are hills and valleys, but with God out in front of me showing me the way, and it is a much easier walk. I know that I am going in the right direction, and the end of the path is going to be glorious, and meaningful.

What about you? Do you feel you are walking on the wrong path? Do you keep seeing  ”dead end,” signs? Does the path seem to be getting harder and steeper?

Stop right now and ask God if you are serving Him in the right way. Our ways are not always the way of God. We often choose to walk alone, and walk into the muck and mire.

The important thing is to get back on the right path, and then never leave it again. No matter what obstacles get in your way, never waver and stumble. Keep plodding on.

There is the story of a woman who was trying to set a record for distance swimming. She had been swimming for several hours when a thick fog came in. She tried to keep going, but she got overly tired and let them pull her in the boat. Minutes later the fog lifted, and the land was only a few hundred yards away. She said, ” If I knew I was that close I would have been able to keep going a little farther.”

Her goal was right there. It was near. She was almost finished, but she gave up just when victory was in her grasp.

Don’t let that happen to you. Take that one more step. Walk that extra mile. Hold on for one more day. Your dream is there for you to achieve.

The world will offer you peace through many forms of escapism… drugs, alcohol, immoral relationships, constant entertainment. It is sought through all forms of pleasure, self-satisfaction and positive thinking. Many believe that peace is defined as the absence of trouble. They refuse to face the problems in their lives believing that this is finding peace. The world, however, has never held the answer to true peace.

You can choose to have true peace. True peace comes not from man but from God. This peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit spoken of in Galatians 5: 22.

This peace means to be in harmony with God, to be bound, joined and woven together with God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It also means to be assured of, confident of and secure in the love and care of God. There is a consciousness and a sure trust that God will provide, guide, strengthen, sustain, encourage, deliver and save completely those who seek Him with all their hearts. This supernatural peace comes first and foremost from receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. Second, it comes from a knowledge of God’s Word.

The Apostle Paul knew this peace. He suffered greatly because of his love for the Lord, love for God’s truth and because of his commitment to the commission given to him by Jesus Christ. Yet in all this, his heart was kept in perfect peace.

He had been imprisoned, stoned, left for dead and scourged by the Romans, and yet he said in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Note the conditions of knowing God’s peace: 1.) You must love God, and 2.) you must be called according to His purpose, which means fitting into His plan and into His perfect will for your life.

Most reject God’s peace because they surrender to their own selfishness and their lust for the pleasures of this world. Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you.” A legacy of inner peace is offered to all who know Jesus Christ, regardless of their circumstances.

In these days of uncertainty and distress, will you receive Jesus Christ into your life? He is the Giver of eternal life and the Prince of Peace!

This rather poetic prayer shares with us that we need to stand strong through the toughest of times, and pray without ceasing.

This begs the question… What if things do not get better in our lives? What if the economy never recovers? What if our dreams are never met?

There are people who have lost their jobs, their homes, their pensions, and their sanity. The unemployment rates are still sky high. The new home building is at an all time low.

We could call it dooms day. We could give up and accept the fact that we will fail and die.

Let me start with failure. That seems to be a big word in our world today with all the business closing down, and people out of work.

FAILURE IS NOT FATAL!

I saw that statement on a bumper sticker, and many of you know that I collect them and put them in books I have written as chapter titles. Well, this bumper sticker will be a future chapter title.

Failure is not the end! Failure is a learning tool. I have failed enough times to know that every time I do a new door opens up and it has many new wonderful things for me to have.

The actual time of failure was devastating, but I prayed for guidance and God lead me down a new path, that I saw new things I never dreamed I could ever do before.

I never dreamed I would be an author some day. I was a teacher for 22 years, and actually taught English in the classroom, but to write a book that actually got published? You have got to be kidding me!

I left teaching  as a sad departure. There were circumstances that caused me to retire early that left a bitter taste on my mouth, but God opened up a whole new world for me from that happening.

When I left education, I thought my life had no meaning anymore, and I wanted to check out of this hotel called earth. God certainly had other plans for me. I am now a very happy man serving God in a way I never thought was possible.

That is just one example in my life where God closed one door and opened up another. I am going through another crises in my quest to serve God. Another door I thought was important slammed shut in my face just a week ago, but it was almost instantly erased by three other doors that God may be opening up for me that look far more exciting and have much more potential.

I pray for God to guide me, and I then wait for the ride! I mean God knows what I should be doing, and I need to stop thinking that I know what I want for ME.

How about you? Are you at the end of your rope and it is getting unraveled? Do you have no open doors. Has all the doors you thought were the ones you were suppose to go through slammed shut in your face.

REJOICE!!

I know… you are thinking this guy is crazy! How can I rejoice when all the doors are shut in front of me. God has a plan. He knows every hair n your head. He made you into His own image. You are a child of God.

Now that I said all of that, do you think He has forgotten you? Do you think He cares? Of course He does!

Stand strong and keep praying. he will reveal the perfect situation for you when he feels the timing is right.

Prayer is the key. Without pray we have nothing. We are trying to “wing” it on our own, and that will end in a crash landing.

Be faithful and true to God, and he will give you far more than you could ever dream of.

After abandoning ship and going into the water the survivor is faced with problems. One problem is shelter from the sun and if possible the waves. Another is the temperature of the water especially if it is freezing. Food and water are issues of survival as Jesus pointed out. 

But one element of survival at sea is pure water. In an ocean filled with water many die of dehydration. They die because it is salt water. Ironically the more salt water you drink the thirstier you become. It relieves for the moment, but eventually the thirst becomes maddening. Some are even driven to true acts of madness because of the salt water, even to the point of murdering fellow survivors. 

We live in a “Salt Water World because our world contains all kinds of salt water. Some will give you temporary joy, temporary peace, temporary satisfaction. The problem is they only make you thirstier. They all exact a price that results in death. What are they? Spiritualism in all its forms, religion, bad theology, good works, not to mention drugs, alcohol, power, sex, success, and the list goes on. For righteousness to work we must have the pure food and water from God. Jesus said in John 4:14, 

“…whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him w