I was at an impasse for today's thought until my daughter Courtney called a few minutes ago. Courtney is hustling to make a living as a personal fitness coach in Richmond. She has to moonlight with a few extra jobs to make ends meet but she is holding true to her passion and vision of becoming a coach dedicated to the total health of her clients. She is gradually seeing her hard work bear fruit. She works out of a large fitness center and this past week one of the other coaches, who teaches a specialized fitness program, failed to show up to teach a class. Courtney was asked to jump in and teach the class at the last minute, even though she is not certified for the program and she had no lesson plan for the class. With a deep breath and her typical "go for it" attitude, Courtney took the class, came up with some creative ideas that pleased the class and ended up impressing her boss so much that he agreed tp pay several hundred dollars for Courtney to become certified so she can teach regularly. I suppose the thought today is reacting to problems (from our point of view) as opportunities (from God's point of view). One of the beauties of God's sovereignty is that everything that touches us must pass through the grid of God's plan for us. Perhaps one key to life is looking for the opportunity God has in mind when problems and unexpected difficulties enter our lives. We may be surprised to see how we grow and even bear fruit in unexpected ways.
Hebrews 12:7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
blessings,
Rob Smith
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