Auto Repair Shop Owner's Daily Dose 42: Your Source (Faith)

Your Source by Rick White, President 180BIZ

Today, I want to talk about your source.  I’ve been thinking and know that I've been blessed. I’ve been talking to approx.120 shop owners a week lately. And I am really blessed.  This has come up a lot in my thoughts.  So, I started to think about what my source is. What's your source of security? What's your source of certainty? As I've been thinking it through, I thought that there are only four places you can really place your source of security.

Level 3: The lowest form of security is going to be external.  It's going to be events and circumstances. When the economy is doing well, when circumstances, situations, and events are going the way you want them to go, then you have this sense of peace and wellbeing. The problem with that, as we all know, is it's really kind of a roller coaster, isn't it? I was reading an article by Gino Wickman. He does the EOS stuff.  A mentor taught him that in every 10 years you're going to have two gangbuster growth years. You're going to have six good years and you're going to have two years where you could potentially go out of business.  That cycle happens every 10 years. Well, I thought about that. I thought that really could be true. So, listen, I don't want to place my security, my sense of peace, my sense of wellbeing on stuff that's outside in my circle of concern.

Remember we talked about the circle of control. The circle of control is everything inside my skin. That is what I can control. I can control what goes into my eyes and ears. I can control what goes out of my mouth and feet. I can control my actions, my reactions, my focus, my intentions. That's it. Then I have my circle of influence. My circle of influence is going to be the people that I encounter. They are the people in my life. And depending upon the level of trust I have with those people decides the amount of influence I have on them. The more time you spend in the circle of concern, the less influence you have. The lower your power of influence is.  So, for my sense of security, it doesn't come from outside. It doesn't, it can't.

So that the third, the lowest level. It's in my belongings. It's what I have. It's my house. It's my cars. Bank accounts give a lot of people a sense of security. When we put our sense of security in our belongings, in our material possessions, it's those of us that don't have what we're looking for and we think it's going to give us that sense of security. When my bank account gets here, I'm going to have a sense of security and you know something.  There are people that have millions and billions of dollars that are less secure than we are. They are more scared and afraid of what's going to happen and what they could lose.

The Bible says not to put our faith in things that can be stolen or rust. Think about that. I can lose this house in a heartbeat. If some freak storm came in, I could lose the house. That's not my sense of security.

Level 2: So, the next level up is in me and my abilities. I have so many mistakes. I have so many shortcomings in that I can't place my certainty, my security on me, and my abilities. I can't follow that kind of thinking with me because I lie to myself all the time. I break my word to myself all the time. I fall short of my expectations and my goals and my aspirations all the time. It’s just not something I can put my faith into, my sense of security, my peace, my wellbeing.

Level 1: But you know, the other thing I can do is I can put it in God. I can base my sense of security, wellbeing, and peace in God. In my relationship with God. I was watching William Paul Young; he wrote The Shack and I was watching a video with him last night. He said something that was powerful. It really resonated with me. He says, “God is not religious. God is not religious. We make it religious. God wants a relationship.”

It has taken me my whole adult life to recognize that God is nothing but love. That when we notice a separation from God, it's not God disapproving of us. It's not God walking away. It's not God shaking his head and giving up on us. No. God is always there. That's what's amazing. He gave us the gift of free will and he works within it. The Bible says that Jesus is knocking at the door all the time.  All we've got to do is open it and he will come in.  He will fill us up. I think that's amazing, But I want you to understand that that is not a decision you make one time.  It's a decision you make every time, every moment to let him in. To let the Holy Spirit in so that we can become closer to what we could and should be. That's the amazing part, but it's not a one and done. It's not where I accept Jesus in my life, and I’m done. It's a daily decision. Like Paul said that he has a battle every day with his old self.” He talked about his selfish self.  He had a thorn and he wanted God to take it away.  But God said, no. Keep it there. If serves you. 

Everything that happens, is for me. That's what I believe. Everything that happens is a blessing. If I wake up and my back is hurting, what's the blessing in that?  The blessing is to realize that I still get to walk and do things. I am still able to exercise. I am still able to lose weight. I can still control the food that I eat. Everything that we go through is a blessing. Everything is a lesson. I lost my godmother a while back and she was just a formidable part of my life growing up. And she wasn't always there, but her strength and her character were.  When she passed, the blessing was that I am grateful to have her in my life. But beyond that, I thank God for allowing me to carry a little piece of her inside of me.

 Look, we're all going through things and we have a choice.  You need to be an example. There are people watching you, people that look up to you.  You need to be an example. It’s not about being perfect, it’s about being an example of authenticity, of transparency. I don't know the answers to everything, but I'm at peace. Why? Because my name is written on the hand to God. He means to prosper me, not harm me. Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  He's there to help and prosper me. He is my heavenly father and he is there to love and protect me.

Sometimes when we have fathers that don't exist, that doesn’t exemplify that, it's hard for us to build that relationship with God.  But I'm telling you, he is nothing but love.  I want you to envision being a small child and doing something wrong or breaking something or hurting yourself and just being able to go to that person that just gives unconditional love.  That person who accepts you for who you are and just hold you and hugs you. That's God. That's Jesus. That's why Jesus came down because as human beings, we got it so screwed up by adding religion into it. If you look at the Bible, Abraham and Noah and all of those, they didn't have 10 commandments, they didn't have any of that stuff. It was us saying, we want more. And God meets us where we're at and says he will give it to you. And the law is there today. The Old Testament laws are there today to show us that we can't do it on our own.

But like I said, when Jesus died, the curtain ripped. Now we have direct communication with God and that all God wants is a relationship. So, what I'm going to ask you today is to tap into that source of peace. To tap into that source of understanding. And if there's any way I can help in that, in any limited way, I am happy to. I honestly believe that we are given the opportunity to be his hands on earth, to be his angels, to help others up

I don't get worried. I don't get nervous about things because I know everything's going to be okay. I just do. I know that's what it's all about. I know everything that happens is the lesson. And the best thing I can do is always look for the lesson.  When I was going through my second divorce, and I was walking through my mom's kitchen? My chin was just dragging on the floor. And my mom told me that God will never give you anything that you can’t handle. I looked at her and I smiled very weakly said, “I think God has a very high opinion of me.”

How many times does it feel like that? And for years I've gone through two divorces and I could never understand why. And now I get it. I can't tell you the number of people I've been able to help just through my experiences, either going through a divorce or saving people, helping people get back together again. I even helped one guy get married.  But it wasn't me, it was him, it was through those experiences, the blessing of the experience. It also got me to get closer to my kids. I took my kids for granted when I was married to their mom. When I got divorced, my daughter who was 12 years old at the time, told me that I am a better dad now. That brought a tear to my eye.

I'm going to ask you to really step back. Find a nice quiet place where you can reflect a bit and ask yourself, what am I plugged into from my source of peace?  There is an old saying that says, if you're in hell, don't stop. Just keep going. Is that what you're doing trying to do it on your own? Or are you tapping into something bigger and better? Something that says, “Whoa, slow down. Look around. There are lessons here, there's joy here.” This too shall pass. There's joy here. Look for the joy. Look for the lessons and grow through this. Don't go through this, grow through this.

So, let's just say a quick prayer. Heavenly Father, I want to say thank you for today. Thank you for the rain. It's not snow. Thank you for the birds that remind us every day to celebrate the morning. The symphony is just so overwhelming. Please, heavenly father, help us see you. Help us to see your path and see your love. I asked this in your son Jesus mighty name. Amen.

I love you. Have a fantastic day. Take care. God bless.