There's a Reason for the Season

 

In the middle of June and during a relentless heat wave it may sound a little out of place to be chiming "Remember the Reason for the Season!" reminders, but for today's Flat Tire thought, I'm reframing that thought to "There's a Reason for the Season". In December folks are hurrying around buying, buying, and buying so it is easy to misplace our focus on the gift rather than the Giver, hence remember the reason, but for the context of today's message, I'm going to focus on the fact that everything and everyone has a purpose, so as life happens there is either a seen or unforeseen purpose connected to everything that goes on in your life and the lives of those you share each day with along the way. 

 Do I believe in coincidences? No. I believe you and I were placed on this rock at a specific time to experience specific events, to ultimately impact your life, those you share life with, or possibly the lives of people you may never even meet. During times when life is tough, it may be hard to accept that there is a purpose for the pain or suffering that is being endured, yet through seeking guidance and a peace that surpasses understanding (Philippians 4:6), we find solace in knowing that God has a plan and that plan is not normally anything we would have concocted for ourselves or those we love. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Isaiah 55:8-9. We aren't wired to see the "bigger picture", and that is where faith and trust have to come into the equation. 

 When one of, what I have termed, "The Six Deadly Ds" (Debt, Disease, Drugs, Divorce, Depression, and Death hit home, life is pretty much going to be turned upside down in some way or another. What was a normal life yesterday can get flipped in a snap of your fingers and all of a sudden you're yelling "HELP!" None of us want to experience hardships related to any of the "Ds", but what we must be resolved to is the idea that you have, you will, or you may be experiencing one or even more than one of the six "Ds" in your life right now. (By the way, the six Ds is not an all-inclusive list, but if you trace back most issues in life, they can be connected back to something related to the list above.) The goal isn't to necessarily understand, but instead to find solace in trusting God to see you through whatever it is you or someone you know is experiencing. 

 I don't know what tomorrow holds, but I do know who holds tomorrow. If we can find the peace that God provides when we trust in Him, life's bumps and canyons all of a sudden become endurable. We accept that how we respond, what we do in reaction to, or how we move forward based on our circumstances may be the difference in someone else's life not our own. When I hit a struggle do I want my children to see me give in, or do I want them to see me "dig in"? When I fall down do I want those that look at me as a leader to see me make excuses and blame others, or do I want them to see me be accountable, accept my role, and then find the courage and strength to get back up again and again, and again if need be? When calamity strikes should I shake my fists and point my finger at God for failing me, or is peace and serenity found in realizing that my life is not about me and just as Paul struggled with a thorn in his side and accepted it as part of God's plan to grow Paul into the man God wanted him to be. (II Corinthians 12:7-12) I especially appreciate Paul's exclamation "... for when I am weak, then I am made strong." 

 Today, whatever you are facing, whatever challenges are standing there in front of you when you wake up each morning, find strength and courage in the fact that whatever it is you are facing God is there looking it eye to eye with you. You are not alone, and you will not go forward in it or through it alone. All you need to do is ask God to go with you. He will give you the strength to endure and even overcome. God has a plan and you are part of it. His plan's will be fulfilled, if not by us, then through us, make your pact with God and allow life to happen as it may, but with the understanding and peace that what happens to us is nowhere near as important as what happens in us and through us. There truly is a reason for the season, go find it for you and those you have an opportunity to impact with the life you live!

 

Coach Carter