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A Position of Strength

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Overcoming Adversity

There was a time I worked for a guy who, although he was good to me, was the kind of character where if you were interested in securing a favorable deal for yourself, you needed to be able to approach him from a position of strength.

At least, that’s what I called it: A “position of strength.” 

By that, I mean that you had to be able to substantiate your terms with something that compelled him to agree to what you’re saying. For example, I want to see my hourly wage increase. If I was going to emerge from his office as a successful negotiator, I needed to be able say something like, “I’ve got another job offer,” or something comparable.

Short of that, he had you in a place where you obligated to accept his deal, which wasn’t always inspiring.

The bottom line, though, is that you could get what you were hoping for as long as you had that trump card – as long as you were approaching him from a position of strength.

Wouldn’t That Be Sweet?

Negotiating life is similar. Of course, in life you’re not interacting with an individual per se, but if you could, for a moment, envision your need to overcome some kind of adversity as something you could manipulate via an exchange between yourself and this figure who can hypothetically alter your circumstances, you can see how approaching this meeting from a “position of strength” would constitute a huge tactical advantage.

So, just as they’re getting ready to refuse your terms, you could lay that “something” on the table and suddenly your platform is dominant and you emerge with an ideal scenario. Wouldn’t that be sweet?

Obviously, we don’t have access to that kind of life-altering dynamic, but we do have something that often gets overlooked and it does equate to a legitimate “position of strength.” The things that most exasperates us are those things that we can’t control.

It’s part of life.

No matter how you prepare, no matter how you plan, life includes a number of elements that simply cannot be controlled or anticipated. It’s those unexpected setbacks that take the wind out of our sails and that “position of strength” you would theoretically occupy is processed as an impractical pipedream than it is anything else.

But look at your scenario in the light of God’s Truth.

Asserting Some Truth Into Your Situation

It says in the Psalms that all our days were ordained before one of them came to be (Psalm 139:16). There is a plan – there is a purpose that infuses every triumph and every setback with significance and meaning (Eph 2:10; Phil 2:13).

Nothing is random. 

At one point Paul is attempting to get over into Bithynia. He can’t. Who knows what that situation looked like, but according to Scripture, Paul documents it as Divine direction and not a physical obstacle (Acts 16:7).

Do you see that?

How many times have things fallen short of what you were hoping for and your reaction was aimed at the tangible entities that comprised your dilemma? Perhaps it was a person. Maybe your car broke down. Perhaps you were working towards a particular goal and something went south leaving you in a puddle of disappointment and confusion. It’s then when you need to be intentional about asserting some Truth into your situation. Otherwise, you’re prone to linger in that zone characterized by discouragement and even bitterness. 

Take some of the Scriptures that pertain to purpose and lay them down side by side….

• All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:16)

• A man’s steps are ordered by the LORD; how then can man understand his way? (Prov 20:24)

• And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Rom 8:28)

• For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. (Eph 2:10)

• for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose. (Phil 2:13)

You see where this is going?

Nothing Random

Remember Simeon? Check out Luke 2:25-32. He’s an older gentleman who has his heart set on seeing the Messiah before he takes his last breath. In verse 27, it says “Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts…” 

I’m not sure what that looked like, as far as being “moved by the Spirit,” but I like to think that it was a series of very practical events that had him thinking he needed to be at the temple. And because it was God pulling the strings, he happened to be there when an obscure couple comes walking out holding the One Who he had been praying to see.

There’s nothing random about our lives. From a human standpoint, we cling to the idea that we are the master or our own fate. Hence, we get the credit when things go well and we bear the blame when things do not.

Certainly we are responsible for our actions, as far as being obedient go God’s commands (Dt 11:1; Jn 14:21). But we are not victims of circumstance, nor are we the reason for our own success. All those things that we can’t control – both the good and the bad – it all culminates in a beautiful exclamation point: God’s in charge!

You’re in a Position of Strength

So, as you’re going about your day, be mindful of the fact that you are in a position of strength. That imaginary person you’re negotiating with in an effort to secure a positive outcome – you have that trump card in that while you don’t know what a day may bring forth, you know Who does. And the Lord makes firm the steps of those who delight in him. (Psalm 37:23).

That’s a position of strength!

Financial Planning When You’re Not, You Don’t, You Can’t, and You Won’t

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A Healthy Desire

On one hand, you’ve got greed and a “love of money.” (1 Tim 6:10) On the other hand, you have a healthy desire to succeed (Josh 1:8) and prosper (1 Chron 4:10).

What distinguishes those two extremes is not always readily apparent. However noble a particular venture or desire may be, apart from being intentional about your relationship with Christ, “compromise” poses as “reasonable” and you’re on your way to something unhealthy (1 Pet 5:8).

But assuming you’re on top of your spiritual game, you’re quest for more in the way of material resources is not so much about satisfying a selfish agenda as much as it’s a desire to bless others. Perhaps you want to alleviate someone else’s angst over a financial burden, maybe you just want to surprise someone with an unexpected blessing. Whatever the reason, it’s an honorable one, but regardless of how hard you work, how hard you pray, your hand keeps getting slapped by different forms of discouragement. Whatever “financial planning” you would like to do, you can’t, because you’re not, you won’t,  and you don’t.

You’re Not, You Don’t, You Can’t and You Won’t

You’re not, you don’t, you can’t and you won’t… It’s not a negative disposition, it’s not a lack of confidence. It’s a fact.

  • I’m not qualified
  • I don’t have the platform I need
  • I can’t make someone give me more money
  • I won’t ever get beyond my current situation

And being a person of faith, you’re more than willing to believe that God can completely transform your situation. But that can make it even more exasperating in that He’s not responding and your situation, rather than being remedied, continues to drag on and on.

Brace Yourself Like a Man

It’s interesting  that when God finally responded to Job’s plea for some kind of explanation as far as why he was being allowed to suffer the way he was, God didn’t start by apologizing nor did He let Job in on the conversation with Satan that had set the stage for the disasters that Job would have to contend with. Instead, God’s first comment to Job was:

“Who is this that darkens my counsel with words without knowledge? Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.” (Job 38:2-4)

In the verses that follow God’s introductory statement in Job 38:2-4, He enumerates various examples of His Absolute Authority in the context of creation. His Attributes are so obvious and so overwhelming that Job, who is still in the throws of physical pain and emotional despair, does a complete one eighty. However “deserving” he felt a moment ago, as far as some kind of rational explanation for everything he’s had to endure, he enthusiastically embraces the opportunity to simply revere his King.

He goes as far as to say “I repent in dust and ashes.” (Job 42:6) He says that because he’s awestruck by the Grandeur or God. The instant God appears, His Perfection effortlessly overwhelms whatever indictments Job had prepared and the only thing that registers as present and worthy of consideration is God Himself.

A Position of Strength

It’s imperative to realize that Job’s response is not fearful, nor is he begrudgingly  admitting a subordinate position relative to God’s Omnipotence. Confronted with a clear view of God’s Reality, He figuratively runs to God’s Throne and drinks in every drop of Substance and Glory that emanates from it. And while it may not change Job’s situation, it completely changes Job. Rather then feeling like a hopeless victim of unfortunate circumstances, he’s now on his feet and facing his situation from a position of strength.

By reminding Job of Who it is that commands every nuance of creation, Job is able to perceive the true nature of his status. It is neither random nor is it intimidating when viewed from the perspective that recognizes God’s unchanging commitment to his welfare and the subsequent sense of Purpose that now characterizes every aspect of his dilemma.

Psalm 16

David’s being pursued Saul who’s determined to kill him. Things were looking especially bleak in that Saul was closing in and David’s options were nonexistent. That is the setting for Psalm 16. At one point, he says:

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. (Psalm 16:6)

 Strange verbiage, considering it’s coming from someone being hunted and on the threshold of complete destruction. David would be delivered and he would go on to great things. But the point here is that David penned this Psalm at a point where he could say with confidence: “I’m not, I don’t, I can’t and I won’t.”

But David was also aware of the fact that his plight was not based solely on what he could see or what he could control. He knew that, not only God CAN deliver, but He IS in the process of doing that presently.

That’s the Truth that needs to be recognized.

God hears and God answers. There’s no disconnect and there’s no delay. His response is exactly what it needs to be in order for His Purposes to be accomplished.

And while His Purposes don’t always include the immediate relief you’re hoping for, the fact of the matter is, you’re being heard and your situation is being addressed. You can, you are, you will and you do.

You can, you are, you will and you do.

Job’s pain did not go away in Job 38 and David was still several chapters removed from becoming king of Israel as God had promised. But in both instances, they experienced the same strength that you and I have access to right now. The perspective that gives meaning and purpose to the pain, the mindset that’s founded on God’s Awareness and Power and the disposition that’s authentically optimistic because of Who it is that’s Ultimately in charge.

It’s the basis for the contentment that Paul refers to in Philippians 4:13 and it’s the Truth that gives us what we need to not only endure, but to excel and to grow into the enhanced character that God has designed us to become.

You’re not, you don’t, you can’t and you won’t…?

No.

You are, you can, you will and you do.