When you have a problem in your life, how do you fix it? Do you consult a mentor? Do you call a friend? Do you go online and try to find an answer?
What about when you have problems you can’t even talk about? What do you do then?
If you and I were forced to list all the trials we’ve faced in life, what would those lists look like? And what if we had to be honest about the emotions that came up as we waded through one mess after another? Have you ever felt all alone? Terrified? Deeply embarrassed? Angry? Hurt? Completely misunderstood?
I certainly have. All those and many more.
Considering the total weight of everything that’s gone wrong in my life, I guess I could be a bitter, angry old man.
But I’m not.
And I’d like to tell you why.
Twenty-four years ago, I discovered seven words that changed my life. Those words are a simple prayer that I pray multiple times every day.
Are you ready?
Here it is:
“What do You want me to know?”
Simple, huh?
Yeah, but for me, it has changed everything.
Let me give you an example: I was 60 days behind on my mortgage. I had no safety net. None. No savings. No unemployment. No income coming in. No rich uncle to call on. No prospects of any money. Clients had fallen through; my business was going nowhere. And the phone calls from the bank were turning nasty.
I knew God could provide, but I was convinced He wouldn’t. I had screwed up somehow, and now God was going to force me to live with the consequences. Soon, my wife and I and our four little children would be out on street, homeless. I had no backup plan. I was nailed to the wall.
I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t think straight. I couldn’t work. I was a mess.
It took me back to when I was a kid. Eight years old. My dad was deployed by the Air Force to a remote air station above the arctic circle. No family allowed. Gone for a year. While he was gone, I wanted to pretend that I could build things just like my dad. So I went out to the garage and borrowed his hand tools to make what I could make.
There was just one problem. My dad was persnickety about how his tools were to be put away, and I didn’t understand his system. The day of his return was looming, and instead of being excited about his return, I was terrified.
Are you ready? Here was my prayer:
“What do You want me to know?”
I waited for an answer, and here’s the answer God gave me:
“Dwight, your dad did the best he could with the parenting tools that were in his parenting toolbox. But I’m a different kind of dad, and I have different tools in my parenting toolbox. When you make a mistake, I don’t leave you. Instead, I come alongside you and coach you, and show you what you need to do.”
Whoa!
That changed everything for me. God wasn’t angry with me. He was going to help me.
My stress level went from 98 to nearly zero. I could finally sleep. During the day, I could focus. I was not only at peace, I was excited. God was going to help me!
And, yeah, for about two weeks, nothing happened. We were completely broke, trying to survive on nothing. But we were fine. God was going to show us the way out. And the way out came. I honestly don’t even remember how. A new client, or some other breakthrough. We got our mortgage and all our other bills paid and up to date, and we went on with life.
Something “magical” happens when you ask God directly what He wants you to know. It’s hard to explain until you’ve experienced it. I’ve experienced hundreds of “aha” moments, paradigm shifts, complete changes of perspective, where suddenly God’s heart and God’s mind become clear, and I discover deep inside what I thought I knew all along:
God is good. Because God is good, I’m okay.
More in a video I recently posted: A simple hack that fixes everything. Here’s the link: https://youtu.be/ljucBKs7oSM
Have a super week!
Dwight
PS. Pic: Me next to Lake Michigan in Door County Saturday morning at 5 am after getting zero sleep the night before
