There’s something gloomy and melancholic about a beach scene at sunset. Maybe it has to do with the never ending roll and crash of waves or the lonely sandpiper running back and forth from the water. Add to scene the dreadful sound seagulls make and it will all squeeze your heart.

Fall weather tends to have the same kind of effect on a soul. Cooler wind blowing and leaves falling can leave us a little misty.

Life is not easy. And when it doesn’t turn out the way you hoped for, YIKES! Throw into the mix praying and not getting the answers you hope for and you’ll be sinking into a muck of despair. No bueno!

I saw something one time that has helped me when prayers seem unanswered.

We were going through some serious turbulence. The plane shook. Then we hit some sort of atmospheric vacuum that made us passengers feel like we were dropping straight down a roller coaster ride.

But then all of a sudden there was calm. The pilot had climbed above the clouds. As I looked out the window I saw beautiful deep blue skies! I wish I would have taken a picture of it but cell phones had not yet been invented.

It looked like the storm had become a fluffy rug under us with with the sun shining above us.

When you go through tough times remember that the sun is always shining beyond your storm clouds.

(Photo Credit: Lukasz Lada, StockSnap.io)

A Bible verse comes to mind: “You changed my sorrow into dancing. You took away my clothes of sadness,     and clothed me in happiness.” Psalm 30:11 (NCV)

If at the moment you’re reading this you can’t see the sun because of the clouds ask the Lord for a quick burst of Sonshine to brighten your day… ok, I agree, that sounds a little cheesy. However, Jesus Christ has a way of helping us discover a greater good coming out of the bad.

A guy I knew confessed to the jury he faced, “I’ve prayed more in the last few days than I have in the last few years.” Being caught in his wrongdoing had led him back to God.

My dad battled a brain tumor that sent him to heaven in 3 quick months. Before the cancer took over his mind  he led more people to saving faith in Christ than at any other time in his life. It was powerful to see. Of course that didn’t take away the pain of seeing my dad’s body deteriorate but it reminded me of God’s greater good.

And God be blessed for His promises, my sadness has turned to happiness as I look forward to seeing him again alive and well up in heaven where we will spend some great times together forever.

I had a church member years ago who went through a quadruple bypass. Before surgery this man was negative and critical, nitpicking everything we did at church. He even wrote his complaints in a little black book he carried around in his shirt pocket. Then, during deacon meetings, he would open the dreaded book and spew out its poison. If you’re a pastor you’re grinning as you read this because you’ve been there as well.

After surgery everything changed! The man’s frown became a smile. He became my encourager. He even told me he loved going for walks around his neighborhood admiring the flowers. WHAAATTT? I say the more bypasses the better. Just kidding.

Maybe you’re going through rough times and your prayers are not being answered as you wish. Hang in there. Look for the Son to shine in your heart once again. It will happen. He promised!

(Photo Credit: Brandon Morgan, Unsplash)

Living in the lightning capital of the world has its advantages. You get to experience first hand the fury, or better yet, the beauty of the heavens.

Late afternoon yesterday was such a day for me. I had heard thunder’s distant rumble in my office, checked my hand-dandy android’s storm tracker, and decided it was time to go home. I got there just in time before the heavens opened and roared. It was intense!

At one moment it seemed like lightning had come into my living room. The lights flickered, the dogs shook, and I jumped. And although my 60 inch television set was off it got fried nonetheless. Bummer! (and all before Monday Night Football too)

I found out later that a lightning bolt had struck a big tree in the yard next door. (below)

Notice charcoaled middle limb. The broken limb was actually split in two by the electrical jolt.

God’s power is literally out of this world!

Keep in mind that Benjamin Franklin did not invent electricity. God master minded it so others could discover it.

Lightning is one of those not so subtle little reminders of God.

I remember one July 4th celebration. Our family was at the beach along with many others enjoying a powerful display of fireworks. They were being shot a few feet away from us and exploding right over our heads. It was exhilarating. When the fireworks store owner was done with his show the crowd roared.

The clouds had been building in the Gulf of Mexico and most people had already left the beach when thunder rolled from above. The sound was deep and loud and the walls of the beachfront condo we were staying at shook. It was as if the Lord was saying, “It’s my turn now.” God then proceeded to create a brilliant lightning display over the water and it was beyond description.

What does this have to do with giving your day a powerful jolt? Everything!

If you’re like me, sometimes days just drag along slowly. We have become so immerse in the mundane of daily routine that it is easy to miss the wonder happening around us.

My wife and I were stopped at a red light the other day. There was a young man coming out of an establishment wanting me to let him in. I waved at him to go in front of me and he started to point at something happening above and just beyond our car. There were several couples of parrots sitting on the power lines chirping.

It was a stunning sight. I looked back at him and he was  still pointing with a great big smile. I nodded, smiled back, and gave him the thumbs up.

Had it not been for that young man paying attention to his surroundings we would have missed the great sight.

All I’m saying is that, like those, there are moments throughout your day capable of giving your hum-drum existence a jolt: it may be nature oriented (like that thunder bolt, or those parrots, or something unique a squirrel is doing), or a friend’s text that makes you smile, or an image in the web, or something silly that happens at the office.

Pay attention. Look around. Take life in.

Life is too short to miss out on the good stuff and God will use it all to refresh you when you need it most.

Please feel free to share with me a unique moment that gave your life a jolt.

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A few days ago I was eating breakfast in San Juan, Puerto Rico, at one of my favorite breakfast places in the world, La Bombonera. The pastries there just melt in your mouth!

My wife ordered coffee with her pastries and it was brewed in the biggest shiniest coffee machine I’ve ever seen (above picture). The machine’s claim to fame is that it’s 104 years old, but it doesn’t look it. Yes, it has a few visible dings here and there but still works like a charm. Forever young would be a good way to describe that ‘bad boy’.

Forever young is the quest of our times but sadly the world only focuses on outside appearance. The problem is that you can’t stop the aging process. Your flap will eventually flop. It’s unavoidable.

The readiness and excitement of youthfulness is a matter of the heart and mind. However, it’s easy to lose one’s passion.

Pastors, like everyone else, easily get discouraged. Sometimes we don’t see the results we hoped for and our personal dreams seem to remain far from our grasp. Then, when we forget that God is the only One responsible for changing lives we feel like failures when folks don’t respond to Him as they should. The condition of the Christian church universal saddens us, the sinful actions of preachers/ministers break our hearts, and our own sin and failure debilitates us. Please don’t misunderstand, this is not a complaint but an open window into the heart of pastors and their families.

In fact it’s easy for anyone to lose focus and passion, even hope. You may not be a pastor but for whatever reason you’ve lost the zeal for life you once had. I want to share with you something I read recently that helped me and I’m sure it’s going to help you as well. This is good stuff! It was written close to three thousand years ago,

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength” Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

Most people are looking for just that, a daily dose of fresh strength. You may be one of them.

The word ‘wait’ has nothing to do with doing nothing. It’s actually a verb. It has to do with twisting and stretching something in order to make it strong. The word also has to do with anticipating something good.

Think of kids at Christmas or getting a present during your birthday. You’re told, “Close your eyes and open your hands.” And you’re so excited that you just can’t wait to get whatever. You want to open your eyes but you’re told, “Wait for it, wait for it…” and that’s what you do. Aren’t there some incredible feelings attached to that waiting?

That’s the kind of anticipating the prophet was describing. It’s an edge of your chair looking for what all God has for you next. Keep in mind, this is a promise God made to all of us who love Him. I challenge you,

Rediscover the joy of living by every day expecting the Lord to bring something good your way. (Tweet that)

A ray of sunshine broke through my office window a while back revealing something I had not seen, a spider’s web. (below)

That spider was waiting for some delicious bug to get caught in her stretched web. Part of her waiting, though, involved adding new silk threads to her complex web network.

We need to keep doing our best at everything (job, family, school, etc) while at the same time looking forward to the thrill of getting a hold of what God is brewing for is.

I call that the thrill of hope and it’s worth getting up and living for.

What other ways of refreshment have you found helpful when you find yourself losing steam? Please leave me a comment.