Hanging Upside Down From a Telephone Pole?

Do you know what I have learned over the years? There’s nothing that will improve your walk with God and your prayer life more than a big crisis in your life. Let me illustrate.

A priest, a minister, and a guru sat discussing the best prayer positions, while a telephone repairman worked nearby. "Kneeling is the best way to pray," the priest said. "No," said the minister. "I get the best results standing with my hands outstretched to Heaven." "You're both wrong," the guru said. "The most effective prayer position is lying down on the floor." The repairman could not contain himself any longer after listening to their conversation. "Hey, fella’s," he interrupted. "The best praying that I ever did was when I was hanging upside down from a telephone pole."

Someone once said, "When you find yourself at the end of a rope, you will find out God lives there. We've been there, at the end of our rope, haven't we? The further we slide down the rope, the higher the anxiety. Generally, sliding down the rope causes more stress than when you reach the end of the rope. Hanging upside down from a telephone pole would catch my attention, how about yours?

But God lives at the end of the rope. There you will be, a bit battered and bruised, but alive. He will come and save you for a higher purpose. You will then, and only then, see the reason, perhaps even a divine reason, for your struggle. You will have grown. It's not what you become, but what you overcome, that matters. Most of the time, everything works out in the end. If it hasn’t worked out, it’s not the end. So far, you have survived 100% of your worst days.

You might be thinking, “Ed, Mister Rodgers did not adequately prepare me for the people in my neighborhood.” Yep, that’s right. God wants us to grow up before we grow old. If you caused the struggle, remember God has more 'good' things for you in your future than you have ever done 'bad' in your past. God redeems and then lifts us. God knows we learn more from our trials than our victories. A mistake that makes you humble is better than an achievement that makes you arrogant. God's grace humbles us without degrading us and exalts us without inflating us.

Many people in the Bible journeyed through severe trials they didn't even cause. When they went through their difficulties, they couldn't understand why it was happening to them. They saw things from their understanding. That's like trying to describe an elephant by only looking at its trunk. A partial picture, the trunk, is not the whole picture, in an elephant. We miss the 'but wait, there's more' part.

Kimberly Henderson of Prov. 31 Ministries (www.proverbs31.org) enlightens us about the 'but wait, there's more' aspect of their stories.



So instead of trying to pull you out, I'm lifting you. I'm kneeling before the Father, and I'm asking Him to give you strength and hope. I'm asking Him to protect you and to move you when the time is right. I believe God will going to use your life in powerful and beautiful ways. Ways that will leave your heart both grateful and thankful for the road you’ve been on.”

Someone special needed this article today. There's an elephant (bigger picture) attached to the elephant trunk (smaller picture) of your current dilemma. Like, Joseph, David, Esther, or Jesus, just you wait until you see the big picture.

Could it be that your present distress is for your best, redemptively crafted into a bigger picture by a Father who knows best? Welcome to a bigger world. You've got mail! Psalm 27:13-14.