This morning I turned on the fan in my office as normal. The fan started but immediately slowed to a crawl that produced no air for dissipating the heat wave in my office.  I tried switching the plug out, turning it off and on again, moving it, shaking it; but nothing worked.  In semi-panic mode now, I immediately went on the hunt for another fan because not having a working fan in my office was not an option!

I found a fan in a vacant office and grabbed it with hopefulness.  I came back into my office and …  my fan was working … circulating as normal.  I felt the difference in the atmosphere immediately.

Reflective Questions:

• How often and how quickly do we get anxious or panic when things in our life don’t go as we plan, expect or anticipate?
• What is our first knee-jerk reaction or response to delays or detours?
• Being honest with yourself, how quickly do you recover and invite God into the situation?
• Do you bother God at all and just roll with your emotions?

The truth is, when we practice a behavior long enough we don’t have to think about it – we’ve trained ourselves to act in an autopilot mode to that behavior. If anxiety has always been our first response to an unexpected event, then my automatic response to anything unexpected will be anxiety.  Without putting into practice a more positive response, anxiety will rule my life.

One thing I’ve learned in my relationship with Christ is that his ways are not my ways.  In the same manner, I have learned not to expect others to deal with life issues in the same way that I would.  This has given me a greater appreciation for the beauty of our uniqueness as individuals.  Acknowledging that God has perfect timing for the things He wants to accomplish in us and through us brings peace into our lives as nothing else will.

Don’t rush God’s processes; instead, practice waiting on the Lord, while reckoning yourself being seated in Christ in the heavenlies.  This is the only way to perfect auto responses with godly love.