day 1073: Valley of Decision

"Thousands upon thousands are waiting in the valley of decision. There the day of the Lord will soon arrive."

Last night I had the opportunity to attend the GRAMMYs in Los Angeles.  Our seats are just up to the right of the stage a few rows off of the floor.  It's a great vantage point for the stage but also to slightly look down on the floor for all of the anxious artists, managers, producers and labels who are waiting to see if they win, or not.  If you watch someone close enough you can see the nervousness build as their award category approaches.  There are a whole lot of people down on that floor in what looks like the bottom of a valley waiting on a decision that can change the course and trajectory of their career.  While it is awesome to be GRAMMY nominated, once you are a winner you are always known as a GRAMMY Award-winning artist.  We don't have many awards in other industries that are as prestigious or as-long lasting as what the entertainment industry does with their annual recognition.  But that doesn't mean that we don't each have some decision that we wait on in our business that is also course changing.  These might come seasonally, annually or even weekly.  Knowing how to handle ourselves when we sit in the valley of decision so that win, lose, tie, or not get any recognition at all doesn't ruffle us or get in the way of moving the business forward, is the key.

I  watched the movie "Flight" (I had to watch it by myself in a hotel room stay because Patti won't watch it given her fear of flying) and without giving away the story, Captain Whittaker, the role that Denzel Washington plays and was Oscar nominated for, has his moment in the valley of decision.  We learn what he decides to do and how it impacts the rest of his life.  For many, God allows us to find our way into our own valley of decision to make the decision to follow Him.  While the valley of decision doesn't always mean that we have hit bottom; certainly many come to Him without a crisis, it is for sure that we have to face ourselves in that moment and be willing to be brutally honest in the decision to put ourselves second and Him first.  We must ask ourselves: where are we walking along the valley of decision and have we decided and re-decided to walk through that valley with God being the One to lead us out?

Reference: Joel 3:14 (New Living Translation)

day 1048: Don't Look Back

"Fear not . . . be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things" 

One of the greatest impediments of moving forward is looking back. Sure, we have to use trends and data to be confident and understand where we have come from, but when we spend too much time in the past we can end up never moving forward, or moving in the wrong direction.  A farmer with an ox and plow, or a John Deere tractor knows this lesson all too well.  One look over the shoulder to see where they have hoed and they are now off line going forward.  We are all too quick in business to want to look over our shoulder and either congratulate ourselves for how far we have come or worse yet, get down on ourselves for the lack of progress to date.  We can't spend our time in the rear-view mirror if we want to move forward boldly and with conviction.  So, gather the analysis needed, review it, make the needed hypothesis and learning and then put it away to move courageously and intently into this New Year.

We are reminded in God's Word about what happened when Lot's wife looked back.  We may not turn to a pillar of salt when we look back, but we are in many ways turning our back to God when we decide that we are going to let the past rule our future.  God is in no way a God of yesterday.  He came to give us a forward looking life with glorious promises of the future. When we look backwards we are not believing and trusting in what He can do for us in the coming year, months, days.  So, let's today, as we complete this first work week of 2013, look only forward and be resolved to making this the best Purposed worKING  year of our lives.

Reference:  Joel 2:21

day 1047: New Year's Revolutions

"Fear not . . . be glad and rejoice: for the Lord will do great things" 

Each year we make our New Year's "resolutions" only to find that some time, not far off after the New Year that we have failed to keep them and we once again bemoan and punish ourselves for not meeting what should have been uplifting and positive ways to start the New Year.  So why do we do it to ourselves, year after year?  And, we not only do it in our personal lives, we do the same exercise in our work lives - only to find that we have come up short there too.  The problem may well be that it is not in the resolution that we find achievement, it needs to be in the revolution to make a real difference.   I am using the word "revolution" in the way that means to turn over and over many times without ceasing.  When we make a resolution to "get in better shape" and we don't include any revolutions, then the resolution will stand still with no where to go.  But, if we add to "get in better shape by going to the gym three times a week", then keep that revolution going, then we can find one day that we are indeed  in better shape.  Business is the same way.  We aren't going to increase that sales number if we don't source more prospects, make more calls, write more proposals, etc.  See, it is in the revolution, not just the resolution.  The resolution is still important though so that we don't just end up spinning aimlessly, which is what night after night on the couch watching TV can do to impede and ruin "get in better shape".  Start a new revolution today!

We want to be closer to God and walk a more fulfilled spiritual journey.  We want to bring glory to Him in our work. That does not happen through just resolution either.  It is through the the revolutions of time in God's Word, prayer and fellowship that we can see our growth and improvement. 52 weeks are in front of us.  How will we spend those 52 weeks?  What will be our revolutions?  Being in church 52 times would be a good revolution.  I am sure you now get the point. Let's also start some new revolutions spiritually this year so that we can see the outcomes that we we desire.

Reference: Joel 2:21  

day 981: Recovery

“I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you."

Career decisions are hard. Do we take a new job? Do we stay in the ones we have? Do we relocate for the company we work for or stay put and miss the promotion? Do we hold onto the job we have even though we don't like it because with the way the market is today we don't want to take a chance that we might be going to a company that would be laying off soon? Even in the best of times when there were lots of opportunities, career decisions were hard. And we have all been in some job sometime where we feel like we are wasting our time with frustration and stagnation. In today's job market I see and talk to many who feel this way. They are sitting in jobs where they aren't happy but they feel stuck and they wonder what this is going to do to their careers. Others are taking any job they can get regardless of title or salary and their resumes are now showing regression versus progression and this is causing much concern and consternation. I feel led to speak to those of you who are in these points in your career where you feel like the time is being taken from you and that the best years of your career may be wasting away from you.

God gives us a word for this in the book of Joel as he describes the last days. The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you." Of course, what we are going through in our careers is not anywhere to the magnitude of that God says the end days will look like, but the promise is the same. If we stay true in our Faith and dependence on Him, any situation where we feel like the days, months, or years are being stripped and taken from us, He will restore them and do so in a way, where I believe, we will look over our shoulder into our memory and remember those times as growing and learning periods in our lives. Today, if you are feeling lost, trapped or stripped down in your job, take the problem to God. Ask Him to come to work with you today and to open your eyes and mind to what you should do next and then trust fully that He will become the best career counselor that you could ever imagine. He will! He is the OPne who can recover anything that is lost.

Reference: Joel 2:25 (New Living Testament)

day 174: Lost Time

Career decisions are hard. Do we take a new job? Do we stay in the ones we have? Do we relocate for the company we work for or stay put and miss the promotion? Do we hold onto the job we have even though we don't like it because with the way the market is today we don't want to take a chance that we might be going to a company that would be laying off soon? Even in the best of times when there were lots of opportunities, career decisions were hard. And we have all been in some job sometime where we feel like we are wasting our time with frustration and stagnation. In today's job market I see and talk to many who feel this way. They are sitting in jobs where they aren't happy but they feel stuck and they wonder what this is going to do to their careers. Others are taking any job they can get regardless of title or salary and their resumes are now showing regression versus progression and this is causing much concern and consternation. I feel led to speak to those of you who are in these points in your career where you feel like the time is being taken from you and that the best years of your career may be wasting away from you. God gives us a word for this in the book of Joel as he describes the last days. The Lord says, “I will give you back what you lost
to the swarming locusts, the hopping locusts, the stripping locusts, and the cutting locusts. It was I who sent this great destroying army against you." Of course, what we are going through in our careers is not anywhere to the magnitude of that God says the end days will look like, but the promise is the same. If we stay true in our Faith and dependence on Him, any situation where we feel like the days, months, or years are being stripped and taken from us, He will restore them and do so in a way, where I believe, we will look over our shoulder into our memory and remember those times as growing and learning periods in our lives. Today, if you are feeling lost, trapped or stripped down in your job, take the problem to God. Ask Him to come to work with you today and to open your eyes and mind to what you should do next and then trust fully that He will become the best career counselor that you could ever imagine. He will!

Reference: Joel 2:25 (New Living Testament)