January 30th – Standing Trial

Listening to the Holy Spirit:

You are not alone. I walk with each of My followers, that they would not be lost to the ways of the world. Though you are drawn to the common, I give you strength and power, that you would not lose your way. Great are the temptations, but greater still My Spirit within you. Do not be downcast; you are not defeated. There is strength to rise again, forgiveness that your burden shall be only behind you. Do not fear the coming defeat. Each day brings battle, some easily thrown aside, others engulfing, but through it all, I am with you, that you would grow, and your strength would be shared to others who will go your way tomorrow. You shall stand the trials, for I do not leave you orphan. My strength is sufficient for you. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, for I have overcome the world. Nothing forged against you will stand. I AM with you.

Psalm 34:19 (ESV) – Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

Rom 5:3-4 (ESV) – Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope.

Romans 8:35 (ESV) – Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

1 Cor 12:26 (ESV) –  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together.

James 1:2-4 (ESV) – Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Taking It to Work:

In September of 2013, inside a six-hour window, we went from business-as-usual, to a four-foot wall of water hitting the west side of our 50,000 ft2 building in Longmont CO. When my west wall finally gave way, millions of gallons of mud, water and sludge coursed through our building for two solid days. Twenty-plus molding and metal working machines, along with hundreds of thousands of dollars of molds, inventory, peripheral equipment, and furniture were all but destroyed.

We went from, in the morning, a well-functioning company of forty or so organized employees, to an unimaginable afternoon of chaos and loss. I stood on the roof of my building in the rain, watching cars floating down the road, and asking Him “Lord, where are you? You led me to this company. I followed you. What are you doing?”.

It was the worst natural and financial disaster I had ever been through.

I’ll spare you the details, but to summarize the situation, the city posted the building as unsafe to occupy, there was over two million dollars of damage, and only a million dollars of insurance coverage, and to add insult to injury, they were already denying the claim.

I don’t have time to tell you the whole story, but I didn’t quit, and God never left my side. With the help of hundreds of fellow believers from my local church, other churches, and good people from the local community, day-by-day, we crawled back to our feet. We had teams of people all hours of the day and night, sitting in the parking lot, cleaning, rebuilding. Many were taking collapsed, muddy boxes home, washing parts in their home dishwashers, and re-boxing, just so we could make deliveries to our customers. It was the Body of Christ in action, tirelessly working to save me and my family from the constant threat of looming bankruptcy.

I can’t tell you the miracle the next year or so represented, especially when I can honestly say to you now, that it was very worth going through, and I am truly a much better man for the experience.

Sometimes our God takes us through some very rough stuff. You may not be going through a trial now, but in life, there are always new challenges appearing on the horizon. Remember God’s Words for you. They may be hard to read or hear in the midst of the trial, but in the end, you will find them to be very true.

There is nothing that He does not see coming, and if you are His child, there is no time when He is not with you. Trials in life, and in your career, they build you. Trust God as He walks you through, as His Word works in you, today.