By MaQuettia “Denise” Ledet

Recalculating!

I Samuel 17:33 And Saul said to David, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, “Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.

“Recalculating, Recalculating,” we’ve all heard that phrase. When I hear that phrase I think about a GPS system’s response to new information being introduced! The word recalculate means to calculate again, typically using different data.

This week I’ve had many opportunities to find hope and strength from the thought that I could revisit, recalculate, and re-position before I responded. Recalculating requires thinking things out thoroughly; it means slowing down long enough to get another perspective. I found it allowed me the chance to preserve my joy, peace, hope and momentum in challenging times.

In the passage of scripture above, David shows up and sees Goliath calling out the army of God and King Saul. David becomes engulfed with passion and a burden to respond to the challenge. Saul then begins to predetermine whether or not David was able to come out victorious, based on what he could see with his natural eye. He came to the conclusion that there was no possible way David could win.

Life is full of Saul’s; full of the opinions of others who feel you just don’t have what it takes to win, change, excel, or succeed. But, David didn’t stop at Saul’s opinion, he introduced new information that caused, what I love to call, a recalculation. He adds to Saul’s equation his bear and lion victories, and that introduced victory over Goliath as a possibility. We know the rest; victory over Goliath was the result, but it started with a recalculation.

The victory always starts in the minds, first.

Sometimes it take just a minor adjustment or a quick memory of former victories to introduce victory as an option in you current situation; and that’s what hope is. Hope is when we can foresee victory as an option. Faith is believing that victory is the only option! So this week, slow down, revisit, recalculate, and re-position before you respond. In an math equation you’ll find, if you change the factors and you’ll change the sum. Recalculate. Revisit with new data and give yourself the option of victory.

 

MaQuettia “Denise” Ledet is Senior Leader, Impact Orange