Unusual Times Call for Unusual Actions
“To Be Blessed In Unusual Ways, We must Think and Act in Unusual Ways”
There is no question that these are unusual times. Weird. Strange. Everything has been turned on its head. When we see so much tumult, chaos and fear, this is a time to stop and reflect. When there are unusual circumstances in our lives and the status quo has been upended, this calls for unusual actions. We need to rethink how we behave and we need to rethink our priorities.
The Covid pandemic has claimed over 1 million lives. It seems that we are getting control of the situation but it seems that we are constantly getting hit with new waves of the virus. When is this going to end? I can tell you that the health care workers that I am working with were frazzled, frustrated and flummoxed in the past two years but things seem to be improving.
Now we are getting hit with high fuel prices, heat waves and climate change, inflation and cultural wars. We as a nation seem more divided than at any other time in history. These are tough times for everyone, there is no doubt about that.
Truth Doesn’t Change
What do we do ? We go to our source for strength, love and peace. Jesus. We go to our sources for power, love and energy. We remember that even though circumstances change all around us, there are some truths that never change that we can grab hold of and anchor our lives to.
Strange and unusual circumstances don’t change who we are and don’t alter the simple truth that we are loved and we are not alone. We also can’t ignore the fact that God has a plan for our lives and we have a purpose. Tough circumstances don’t change these truths. Tough circumstances makes these truths more readily discernible.
We have a God given passion and a God given purpose. Even though we may be facing unprecedented challenges, these facts do not change.
This reminds me of a documentary I was watching the other day on General George S Patton. In the documentary, there was a statement that Patton’s legacy and reputation were both established and cemented in a period of about six weeks. Think about that for one second. For twenty or thirty years from World War I to the middle or end of World War 2, all the struggles and experiences and trials were laid out before him to prepare him for a period of about six weeks.
This makes me think about our own unique situation. Could it be possible that all of our trials and sacrifices and experiences up to this point were preparing us for this very moment? Could this be the moment or the period that we were created to shine, guide and lead? What if we ignore the moment and don’t recognize it for what it is ?
There may be people all around us who are looking for guidance, leadership and support. We should look for people all around us who look like they are struggling to deal with these trying times so we can be a source of inspiration and support. This is our moment to shine. We should be making every effort to seize it.
Start With The Impossible
Start by doing what’s necessary; then do what’s possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.
-Francis of Assisi
If we aren’t already doing so, this is the perfect time to start the habit of a daily quiet time in bible study and prayer to ask God for guidance and direction. We need a compass to guide us through these rough waters. If this is already an ingrained habit, then our bible study and prayer should be ramped up a notch because these waves just keep getting bigger and bigger. I just saw a news report yesterday that said 49 percent of the population in the United States has taken a hit to their income during this pandemic. That means half of us are making less money while our stress levels are going up. Now we are dealing with sky high inflation and sky high fuel costs.
We are struggling just to survive.
Believe it or not, every single one of us is called to do the impossible. That is a bold statement. How do I know this? Because we cannot achieve our purpose in the power of our passion within our own strength. We are absolutely going to have to depend on God.
If you are pursuing a purpose right now that you can achieve in your own power, you don’t need God and it doesn’t require any faith. That is most likely your plan for your life, not God’s. When it comes to God’s plan for our purpose, we are going to need passion, energy and supernatural power and it is going to require faith. God is interested in growing our faith, because without faith, we cannot please God.
And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him
Hebrews 11:6 NIV
Faith brings us into a close, loving relationship with God because it forces us to rely on HIM. There is a tremendous amount of power in that. There is a tremendous amount of value in that also.
In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
1 Peter 1:6-9 NIV
So what do we do? We look around in a world full of tumult ,chaos, fear and suffering. What do these things provide for us? Opportunities. God given opportunities to lead our families. God given opportunities to show that we aren’t afraid. To embrace the challenges before us. To accept our “assignment of love”. The idea regarding our “assignment of love” is addressed in my book, “Discover Your Passion, Release Your Power”. Here is an excerpt,
Let’s stop for a second and go back into the land of the near-death experience. As I have mentioned, the NDE can bring some valuable insight in the quest to discover our own unique passions. There are two extraordinary and powerful principles outlined in the following NDE account that can really help us to home in on our own unique passion. In Lessons from the Light, a person who had an NDE describes what they learned:
One thing I (learned) was that we are ALL here to do an “assignment of love.” We don’t have to do it at all, or we can do as many as we like. It’s up to us. Our “assignment” is programmed in at birth, and it is the very thing or things we love most.
Here is another excerpt regarding our “ASSIGNMENT OF ENERGY” from a person describing their near-death experience:
I was such a bozo. I always thought doing what you loved most was selfish. I can remember how amazed and happy I was when this information “came into my mind.” This other source of energy, using my voice said, “That is the most unselfish and constructive thing you can do for the world because that is your assigned energy and you will be happiest doing it, you will be the best at it, and most respected for it!
Assigned energy? Do you have an assigned energy? Did you even know that you have an assigned energy? This was a unique idea to me. It’s a unique idea for many people.
Capture The Moment
So clearly, when we look around, the world at this time is filled with opportunities to accept and engage in our “assignments”. Opportunities, circumstances and situations are all around us to show love and service to those around us. These actions are our most powerful witness to our faith in a world filled with fear, uncertainty and people looking for guidance, direction and wisdom. But we don’t point to ourselves, we point to Christ.
Love is invisible until you see action.
So let’s focus on those around us including our family, friends and co-workers and let them see the “hope” that we have and the confidence that we have in God’s plan for us. We are to lead by example. We are to be beacons of light and strength. That is the one thing that I see in believers around me at work and in the community right now that is a powerful witness to an unbelieving world. Fearlessness and a positive attitude. No fear of illness and a willingness to support and encourage people who are terrified of this illness. I myself probably tell people ten times a day “don’t be afraid”, when I tell them they have a positive test for the virus because I can see the fear in their eyes.
One thing that I see in believers is no fear of death. There is no fear of death because of a steadfast confidence in our ultimate destination. We look forward to being in a loving, perfect, blissful environment (heaven), enjoying the presence of God and our best friend, Jesus.
But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
1 Peter 3:15 NIV
And we should remember this inspiring quote, (one of my favorites)
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.
C. S. Lewis
I do need your help though, if you are a fellow Christian believer and would like to help spread this message, please take the time to leave a review on one of my books. This is the only written review I have for my Challenge Your Fear book that has been on sale for 1 year.
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on November 12, 2022
It is clear from the moment of the introduction that Challenge Your Fear Empower Your Spirit was written by a Christian for Christians, and there is plenty of helpful tips that do not involve faith.
One thing I have learned is that this is a huge war we are in as Christians. We are going to face ridicule, rejection and criticism, just like Jesus did. But we need to stick together and help each other.
What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man. When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven.
(Luke 6:22- 23 NLT)
I’m not asking for money, I just ask that if you buy one of my books, please take 30 seconds of your time to leave a written review that can help to counter some of the anger and hatred that comes when anyone mentions Jesus.
Any help would be greatly appreciated !!
If you know any other people in the family of believers that are having a particularly tough time during this pandemic, please forward this blog post to them.
Thank you for your support !!
Your Brother in Christ
Johnny
bravethewaveweride@gmail.com
bravethewave.org
If you are experiencing persistent symptoms of fatigue, body aches, brain fog or shortness of breath even months after a bout of Covid, you can learn more here,
1 Comment. Leave new
My NDE occurred so many years ago I can’t remember it in detail any more. But I do remember enough to know I was in the presence of an angel.