Where Do We Go from Here?

On a freezing night in December of 1914, a fire swept through the laboratory of Thomas Edison (West Orange, NJ). Spontaneous combustion had broken out in the film room and within moments, everything flammable was consumed. It was a HUGE fire! Firefighters from eight surrounding towns arrived to put out the fire, but the heat was so intense and the water pressure so low that fighting the fire was futile. Everything was destroyed! At the age of 67, what was Edison to do?

With all his assets going up in smoke, would his spirit be broken? Would he blame God and ask, “What did I do to deserve this!?”

No!

The next morning, before dawn, he gathered his employees and made a surprising announcement! He said, “We can always make capital out of disaster. We’ve just cleared out a bunch of old rubbish. We will build bigger and better on these ruins!”

During this past year or so, have you experienced some insurmountable obstacles like Edison in your life? If so, we can claim a few of God’s promises:

• Remember that “Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever!” (Hebrews 13:8)
• His promise is encouraging, “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age,” (Matthew 28:20b)
• Philippians 4:4-9 is one of my favorites! "Rejoice in the Lord, Do not be anxious…with thanksgiving present your requests to God, …think on these things…And the God of peace will be with you!"
• “I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13)

With examples throughout the Bible of how the Lord is with us and helps us, and seeing the human example of Edison picking up the pieces and starting the next day, we learn that with Christ we can overturn our obstacles! Let’s get started!

Written by WMU of Texas President Earl Ann Bumpus