Gen 50:20     But as for you, ye thought evil against me; [but] God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as [it is] this day, to save much people alive.

Do not fear what this day, or any day, may bring your way. Concentrate on trusting Me and on doing what needs to be done. Relax in My sovereignty, remembering that I go before you, as well as with you, into each day. Fear no evil, for I can bring good out of every situation you will ever encounter.

Psa 23:4     Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou [art] with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

It’s funny. It’s a rare thing for me to allow circumstances in my life to freak me out or cause me serious worry. Most of the time, I’m pretty even keeled and relaxed because I know that God’s got me. Oh sure, I have some insecurities just like the rest of you, but what I’m saying is that the majority of the time, I am perfectly content, no matter what’s going on. I just don’t let it bother me because, look who’s got my back.

But, the few times that I am bothered; the few times that I do worry…I always am stressing myself for nothing. I always find that I say afterwards, “I don’t know why I was stressing’ over that.” Why? Because God always resolves the situation for me, and it is always in my best interest.

I don’t know who of you were around, back when I was talking about trees of the mind. My thought is, that these trees of the mind get diseased; they become a black hole or empty space in your mind when that tree is grown via expectations that are unfulfilled.

What I’m saying is that a healthy tree is fed via hope. That is, in my mind, what keeps our brain trees strong. And we have an entire forest in there; a Redwood forest, with trees that have centuries of information compiled and assessed in their rings. The trees are large and strong and beautiful. However, there are Blackwood forests too. Places known as “the bog” and so forth. It is those blackened, dark areas that I’m referring to.

It is one thing to have hope, but it is another entirely to have expectations. Honestly, I think expectations are based on pride. For instance, most people get married and expect that it will last forever. What’s that thought based on? Do you expect God to hold your marriage together when you don’t even pray daily? Do you even pray or spend serious time with your spouse, or do you allow the world and work and all those outside forces to gain so much entry that it diffuses any energy you have left to give your marriage?

What if you did pray? What if you married the wrong person in spite of your prayer life and it didn’t work out? Is that God’s fault, or were you making flesh based decisions and not waiting on the Lord for a definitive answer? How can I ask these questions of you? Cause I had to ask them of myself, and the answers weren’t what I wanted to hear or recognize.

So, if it didn’t work out, no matter how much you loved, or how hard you tried, is that God’s fault? And are you shattered? Have you taken a hatchet and chopped all those trees down by your attitude about that failure? Have you become your own worst enemy by allowing a failure to stop your growth? Trees are dying by the minute, and are you just sitting by idly?

Something is poisoning the trees, and if swift action is not taken, the whole forest will be lost. But God. You see, God can and will take any of our errors; any of what we deem as mistakes, and turn it around. It is only our perspective that makes them mistakes instead of misunderstandings. What did we misunderstand?

Well first of all, we had expectations instead of hope. Hope involves faith. Expectations involve work. We expect that after we have done this, this, and that, such and such will be the end result. However, we fail to realize that that assessment of the end result is self-centered. It is based only on me, myself and I as the sole variable, and does not take into account the feelings, hopes and concerns of others. It assumes that everyone else’s thoughts are the same as ours or run on a parallel…and what if they don’t? Are you going to fall apart or give up?

So in a world in which string theory exists (and you will follow this theory of thought if you’ve been following along in my recent posts), you think you stand alone. You think that within the “cube” you touch no other sides outside yourself. You connect with no other “cubes” within the universal multiplex cube of life.

You don’t interact with any other atoms on the string in the theory. You are your own atom on your own short little string; so small, in fact, that one almost can’t call it a string. It’s just a piece (of fluff).

You are an island, and your life does not connect with, nor interact with anyone else’s. Only you exist. You are god in your own you-niverse. You direct the flow, and no other people, circumstances or variables exist that might come up against that flow and possibly disrupt it, or divert it.

If that is the case, you are in darkness. The only way no other variable could exist to interfere with your will is if you were in a void. Honestly, anyone that thinks they have that much control over their life, is greatly deceived.

Jhn 16:33     These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Ok, so you failed. What’s the big deal? Look, we all hate failure because the world says we’re losers as a result of our shortcomings. But, how can I be a loser, when my failures help me grow stronger? You may kick me down in the dirt, and I may fall flat on my face, but do I have to stay there? No.

I may have to “rest” in humiliation for a few minutes, but it’s only going to help me get my bearings; it’s going to correct my perspective so that when I do finally rise from the dust, my focus has been adjusted, and my resolve is regulated towards improvement and change.

After all, I certainly wouldn’t want to go through that same experience again. I may repeat my error, but the scenario will be changed, and the variables different. The lesson may be the same, but it is only until I “get it.” Sometimes we need to be humbled. We need to come down off of our high horses, and get knocked to the ground just so we can see the perspective from down there, versus up wherever we think we are; the view from that place that we deem ourselves to be. Maybe that way, we will consider others and the view outside ourselves.

My failures open my eyes to things I was unaware of before, therefore, enhancing my knowledge and awareness. My failures not only help me to see, but others as well, so my failures can be a humanitarian tool. In addition, my failures get me closer to God, because I have to “seek” to find the answers, and what greater authority is there to seek answers from?

Isa 41:13    For I the LORD thy God will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not; I will help thee.

I think we fear failure because we fear being disrespected. But you know something? I can think of so many incidents where I feared the ridicule of others; their harsh criticisms and disapproval bothered me. It hurt really bad. But despite that, what got me through it was standing my ground and adamantly refusing to give in to their attempts at manipulation and control of me, no matter how much they mocked me.

I went through years of that. I struggled for respect. It was an issue in my family, with “friends,” with associates and co-workers. It was a big issue. But I was determined, even when I cried in private moments; that I was not giving in. I didn’t care if I wasn’t liked. All I wanted was respect. But what I discovered, was that in fighting so hard against giving in, I started to respect myself. I started respecting myself for not giving in, no matter how much they attacked my self esteem. That made me stronger, so that what they said and did, after a while, didn’t bother me.

Phl 4:13     I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Oh sure. I had anger management issues for a while. Who wouldn’t be angry? Funny thing is, now I call all that my “wilderness experience.” It’s not like I breezed through this with a perfect attitude. But, what I lacked in self control, I made up for in resolve. The attacks, the adversity brought out the fighter in me. It activated and manifested a part of my calling that is in my name, which means “helper and defender.”

Besides that, I learned self-control in the process; call it an end-goal achievement. And what I got strengthened in, I got good at. One thing about me; I like to share what I learn, so I did. I started writing a newsletter for a union. I took that newsletter from a social rag that wasn’t getting any attention, to a worker’s rights advocate paper that increased the membership of that unknown, nondescript union by 200% in one year.

What did I talk about that garnered such attention? I taught them how to stand in the face of adversity. In fact, I taught them how to be ready for it; how to know what was coming; how to predict the movement of the enemy, and how to respond to it with smarts and grace. I altered their perspective by sharing some insight I gained while in the dust all those times.