Pushing Buttons 

I love writing. The discipline and challenge have changed my life. Normally, I wake up early and write, and then I slip into the old running shoes for my special time with God. It’s not study time; it’s “God and me” time—relaxing, talking, and listening time. It’s also where, so often, I get hints about the next day’s writing topic. 

Well, right now I’m out of town, which makes my writing routine more challenging. And because my motto is “When you mess up, you fess up,” I will “fess up” my “mess up” to you: I didn’t run yesterday. 

So, as I made my way down the hall to the hotel elevator this morning, my head was full of chatter. Now what is the message for today? What am I to write? I cannot believe I didn’t run! I won’t let this happen again. This is a mess. WAIT A MINUTE. How long have I been in this elevator? 

Yep, there I was in the beautiful mountains of North Carolina on a glorious Sunday morning, stuck in an elevator. All I could do was giggle at my foolishness. I had been standing there for God-only-knows how long. Stuck because I hadn’t pushed a button! And then I realized that once again, from within my mess, God had given me His message. 

Being stuck in that silly elevator is a lot like the paralysis we can find ourselves in when we worry too much about what we have done or not done or plan to do—and rely too little on what God is able to do. So today, give yourself a break and quit worrying. While it’s true you are to live worthy of God’s calling, you are not perfect. You’re going to fail, but your failings have no power to stop God’s will in your life. Just as I finally pushed the elevator’s button to continue my journey, so too can you push the button of His truth and experience the joy that promises to keep you moving forward. 

Where is your elevator stuck this morning? Write out Philippians 1:6 in your journal. Write it in your own words, if you’d like. Think of it as a way of pushing the button and moving into the day.