Get a Grip!
About once a week, I leave my home office, laptop and files in tow, to park myself at a corner
table at Panera. My table-my name isn't on it or anything, but if it's occupied, I sit nearby and
stalk it, waiting for its current residents to finish their steel cut oats and bear claws and take
their coffee and go!! I don't resort to the stink-eye stare to MAKE them leave, but I'm mentally
nudging them, if you know what I mean, sending mental telepathy out with surreptitious
glances, ready to scoop up my files and computer at a moment's notice. MY table has walls on
two sides, a comfy bench seat, and lots of light, and views out the windows, plus adequate
spacing away from the other tables in the section. The trendy background music, thrum of
conversation, and movement of people in and out of my section feels like soothing white noise
without the sleepiness.
I find that my concentration and ability to be productive improves when I hang out there.
Getting out of my house, taking advantage of the free wifi and having access to broccoli
cheddar soup and iced tea that someone else made and I don't have to clean up all contribute to
getting more done! I get a break every time I refill my tea, moving from the far end of the
restaurant to the front where the drink station is.
The Panera closest to me is about 45 minutes away, so I'm intentional about preparing what I'll
work on. I'm guessing that limiting myself to a couple of projects or files helps overcome the
overwhelm I often feel when I'm working at home where distractions are everywhere and ALL
the things that need doing vie for my attention.
Usually, my Panera time is serene. But today I've had to move up and down the aisle of the
struggle bus. First, my table was occupied by a small group of older women, talking loudly,
face-timing a friend mutual to all three of them and taking entirely too much time to drink their
coffee. Why? I wonder, do public phone conversations seem so much louder than regular
conversations. And normally you'll hear one side of the conversation, but today I'm hearing not
two, but four. Not the usual background "thrum" I enjoy.
When the ladies finally leave, I quickly move my stuff over, and place my order for soup, ready
to settle in and get some work done. I pick up my soup at the counter, set it on the table, and as I
turn to place my tea on the other side, my elbow catches my soup and sloshes half of it onto my
table and computer.
UGH. And my first thought it "Get a grip!" Is that an '80's phrase? '90's? Not sure, but it
reminded me that I woke up thinking something similar and put in the notes on my phone. Good
practice, by the way, of regularly recording thoughts and ideas somewhere that you can access
later when you need them. As a writer and speaker, these little notes to self and turns of phrase
that I pull out of my brain and put into a journal, a notebook, or a phone note, prove to be useful
in unexpected ways.
So, the juicy morsel that I had put in my phone's notes was this:
"If I could get a grip on myself, I wouldn't have to grasp at straws."
I recorded the thought because I was worried about a money problem. Being unwilling to
acknowledge and address my role in the problem had made it worse. Now it felt bigger than my
ability to correct it. Getting a grip on myself before-controlling what only I can control, which
is me-would have eliminated my sleeplessness and desperation after to clean up the mess of
my own making.
In a sudden insight while cleaning up soup, I realized that I was escalating a minor problem into
a full-blown drama in my head! I had been running from the problem, not facing what was right
in front of me, and like the soup, it wasn't going to clean itself. Here's a thought.... avoidance is
not a sound strategy! So, what can you do with a situation that has you paralyzed, doubting your
abilities, scaring you with its potential, making you feel powerless to move forward?
Well, a very capable, successful Old Testament prophet was in a similar predicament. Elijah
had just finished showing the false prophets of Baal WHO the true and living God is by his
confrontation with them on Mount Carmel. While the false prophets whined, wailed, and cut
themselves to invoke their god to do something, Elijah laughed and asked them if Baal was on
vacation. Nothing like a little sarcasm to fan the flames!
Elijah says, "Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and
must be awakened." (1 Kings 18:27) Then Elijah doubled down and added to the "My God is
bigger than your god" challenge. He built an altar and covered it THREE times with precious
water... scarce, hard-to-find water that had to be scrounged up from somewhere because there'd
been a drought in the land for three years. A drought Elijah asked for and God gave him.
Elijah prayed, "Answer me, LORD, so these people will know that you, LORD, are God..." (1
Kings 18:37) In a stunning display of power, the fire of the LORD fell and burned up the
sacrifice, the altar, the wood, and licked up all the water that covered and surrounded the altar.
Elijah then commanded that all 450 prophets of Baal be killed by the sword. Then he had the
boldness-the audacity-to send word to King Ahab, "Better hitch up your chariot and go
down before the rain stops you."
The king's wife, Jezebel, sent out a threat against Elijah. I can almost see and hear the sneer in
her words: "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not
make your life like that of [the prophets of Baal]." (1 Kings 19:2) After his greatest triumph, the
moment God had showed up and showed off, this prophet who'd stopped the rain, multiplied
the oil, raised the dead, and brought down fire from Heaven, suddenly turned tail and ran for his
life!
We next see him under a or juniper tree and praying to die! "I have had enough, LORD," he
said. "Take my life, I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the bush and
fell asleep. No doubt, he needed to get a grip! He couldn't see a way out of the threat; he'd
picked up what Jezebel had laid down, and all he could think to do was avoid, avoid, avoid. Run
from the problem!
James 5:17 in The Passion Translation tells us that "Elijah was a man with human frailties, just
like all of us, but he prayed and received supernatural answers." Supernatural the answers were,
but for Elijah under the juniper tree, they were also practical and instructive for us when we
need to get a grip and stop grasping for straws to fix what we've avoided for too long.
As a child, we're taught to "Stop! Look! and Listen!" before crossing the street. Before grasping
for straws, I think we need to Stop! Listen! and Look!"
First, STOP! When a problem has paralyzed you into inaction, stop and analyze your state.
Elijah went a day's journey into the wilderness and sat down. After he prayed and slept,
scripture tells us that an angel came to Elijah, told him to "Get up and eat." Elijah found some
warm bread and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. This scene is
repeated, and afterwards, Elijah was strengthened enough to travel 40 days and nights to Mount
Horeb, the mountain of God. No doubt he had been hungry, tired, frustrated, afraid, and
discouraged.
Are you tired? Hungry? Frustrated? Discouraged? Funny, isn't it, that even after mountaintop
experiences, we often can and do experience depression and anxiety. I remember a particularly
rewarding season of my sales career... My team had exploded in growth. We'd scaled up in our
sales and company standing, and after the initial excitement of it all, I got the do-nothings. I felt
ineffective as a leader, and I was tired of the business and the people. Time to evaluate! What is
my state? What can I do to practically alleviate it? I was tired, we'd been intense for about 90
days. I was discouraged because after growth, we plateaued. I was frustrated that the team I'd
invested in for months was starting to slow down. I was afraid we'd lose what we'd worked so
hard to attain.
First order of business is to breathe and remember what I can control, and what is outside my
control. Elijah couldn't control Jezebel. I couldn't control my team. But I can control my mental
state. I can control my prayers. I can ask for help. If I had chosen to remain in that self-
sabotaging state, my failure would have become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I had to Stop and
assess my state before moving on to possible solutions.
Second, LISTEN! Elijah prayed. He laid out his woes-I did everything right, Lord, and they're
trying to kill me! -and then he hushed to hear God's voice. Too often we do the talking in our
prayer time but very little listening. We get in a hurry to fix things without getting still and
waiting for the whisper that will come if we are actively seeking it.
When Elijah reached Mount Horeb, he petitioned God again, and God told Elijah that He was
about the pass by. "Get ready, I'm fixin' to tell you something!" (That my Appalachian
translation.) God's voice was not in the drama-not in the whirl wind, not in the earthquake,
not in the fire-but in a gentle whisper.
Often, we get caught up in our own drama, and forget to, in a word or two, simmer down! A
confused, distraught, frustrated, whirling mind shuts down and does nothing. Listen for the
gentle whisper. You gotta get quiet. You gotta get still and listen. God whispered next steps to
Elijah. "Go back the way you came," He said. (1 Kings 19:15)
Good advice for me in my "get a grip" moment. What had brought me to that point? What
would experience and wisdom reveal to me? What will they reveal to you? There are some
things in the "back there" that you can do. One mentor in my sales career would tell me, "Go
back three steps. I bet you can find the problem there." If my sales were so-so, how had I set up
the demonstration? What expectations had I set for the appointment? If a relationship needs
repair, go back, and find where it got off kilter. Then, listen for the whisper of wisdom. I know
the One who tells oceans and stars where to go will have a solution for me. We always learn
more by listening than by talking. Especially when we listen to God.
Finally, Elijah looked! God instructs Elijah about three leaders coming behind him. "Anoint
Hazael king over Aram... Jehu king over Israel... and anoint Elisha to succeed you as prophet."
(1 Kings 19:15b-16) Having stopped, and listened, now Elijah could see what God was doing.
Other people were attached to his mission! Two kings and a prophet would be part of the
solution, and another 7,000 in Israel were loyal to God. Elijah was not alone. He had only to
look!
If we are willing to look, we'll find that we are impacting other people when dealing with
difficulties and frustrations in our lives and businesses. The man following Elijah in his
prophetic calling, Elisha, would go on to do DOUBLE the miracles that Elijah did! You can
impact others with your mindset, your peace, and your courage to deal with problems head on,
rather than avoiding them, and resorting to grasping at straws when things get desperate. Look
for those who are following you. Look to see what a difference you can make.
Elijah didn't have all the answers, but he was able to "get a grip," stop, listen, and look and
continue on-mission.
My "get a grip" money dilemma will be easily resolved. Deep cleansing breath. I am calm and
analytical and accepting, speaking gently to myself. Like the soup on my table at Panera, this
problem is easily mopped up. Elijah was a person with frailties; so am I. He prayed, and God
answered. God will hear and answer me; He'll be a present help in my trouble. The whisper of
wisdom I hear is "spending plan and accountability partner." I see impact on my future self and
spouse as we plan travel and investing and on others as we practice generosity because I've
been wiser with money. No more wild-hair worries or grasping at straws that I'll have to sell
my first born or donate plasma. It's just money. With God's help, I'll make more.
Stop. Listen. Look.
Amen.
Father,
Your word about Elijah in James-that he was human like me, imperfect like me-touched me
deeply, and gave me such hope! Elijah was mighty in Your service, and I can be, too. Thank
you for reminding me that Your love, Your help, Your voice, doesn't depend on how good I
am, but on how good YOU are. Remind me that You are there, ready to speak to me and lead
me forward, and that when I stay "on-mission" others will benefit and see that You are the
LORD. Show up and show off, like You did for Elijah. I can't wait to see what You will do!
Help me as I heed your voice of wisdom and obey. Produce fruit in me that shows who You
are!
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
