Thank God For Broken Elevators

     Monday morning when I arrived at work, the elevator was broken. I anticipated the elevator to be down for a few hours but it is going to take a month to get the part needed. I work on the fourth floor. I am glad to get the extra exercise and maybe by the time it gets repaired, I will be in the habit of taking the stairs and will keep up the habit. I have always taken them between the third and fourth floors but I usually have a heavy bag that keeps me from taking them the entire way. Many of the employees do not like the forced exercise. As the wellness director, I am always talking about taking the stairs if they can't find time to exercise. They all say, "I know, I should", but they continue to hit the elevator button, even for one floor. Well, for one month there is no option. They will take the stairs! Hopefully, we will all see the results when the month is complete.
     How many times as Christians do we say, “I know I need to. . . I should . . ." but we don't do it until God pushes the pressure button in our life and gives us no choice. I have said, "I know I need to get better at praying more", but I don't. Then one of my children gets sick, or I have a conflict with someone and all of a sudden my prayer life increases. This is why God doesn't let us live on the mountain top continuously! It is the hard times that remind us of our need for God. It keeps us from thinking we got everything under control. This is why we can thank God for the trials, and broken elevators: it gets us doing the things we should have been doing all along.
What should you be doing that you're not? Wouldn't it be easier to do it before the trial hits? What would your spiritual condition be without the trials in your life? The spiritual growth we get from trials is why we can thank God for the 'broken elevators' in our life.

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.

1 Peter 1:6