Hot Buttons

For the past two days, I was at a conference and was unable to post like I wanted. Although I had an extraordinary time, I could not help but think about the blog. I have received so many positive comments - from those that post, send an email, text, and call to say how it spoke into their lives, so naturally I wondered what would happen if people turned to the blog and there was no fresh word. I thought about texting my post to a loyal friend who would have easily agreed to post it for me, but it just didn't seem right. I really toiled with the idea of what to do.

While standing in my hotel lobby during some precious downtime, I noticed the elevator buttons. There were several sets of buttons, each vertically aligned. As I looked at the buttons outside of the elevator, I noticed that even though the buttons appeared to be a set, there was nothing labeling them. This was a 5 star hotel, certainly everything was precisely calculated and up to standard. This puzzled me. I remember as a child when the elevator buttons were clearly labeled. The top button meant up, and the bottom button was for down. I wondered if the buttons had not been labeled because in the lobby all of the buttons have the same purpose, to go up. But when I arrived on my designated floor, the buttons outside the elevator were not marked either. When had elevator engineers stopped labeling the buttons? Was it no longer necessary to have distinguishing buttons as long as there were buttons to press?

I learned a very valuable lesson waiting on that elevator. It really doesn't matter which button I press, either would produce the effect, the arrival of a well-oiled machine that would either lift me up or bring me down depending on how I reacted once inside the elevator. I begin to laugh and thank God for that incredible revelation. There will always be hot buttons in our lives, things that arrive that will either lift us up or bring us down depending on how we react once faced with that situation. The enemy knows our hot buttons! He knows just when to press you and when to stop where you are. He has figured out what will bring you up or in his purpose take you down. Whether it is your family, your finances, your ministry, your friendships, your job, it doesn't matter he knows which hot buttons to press to get your mind off Jesus and to keep you bound to the floor you are on.

Let's face it, life happens. The scripture tells us that we are in this world but we are not from this world. That means that you will face the toils of life, but you are created by God to live a life of abundance and excellence. Jesus said that He came that you might have life and have it more abundantly. Jesus' concept of an abundant life is one where you are victorious over the circumstances of this world. Isn't that an incredible revelation? No matter what presses you or pressures you, God will work it out for your good. We all have hot buttons things that stress us out, inhibit our faith, hinder us from moving forward, but it is our responsibility to take command of the buttons. Once we get on the elevator of life, no matter which floor you are on - even if it's the ground floor, we must push another button to keep moving.

When the report says you are sick, press the faith button and speak healing. When the bank statement says broke, press in and claim your Daddy's riches. When the job says denied, push back in prayer and watch God promote you. When hell breaks loose in your spouse or children, decree the word of God over your life and theirs. You see it does not matter which button the devil presses - he intends to play in your life, it only matters how you react. You decide which direction to go next. So the next time life happens to press your hot buttons, step on in and press the buttons of prayer, faith, meditation, love, forgiveness, peace, mercy, and grace. Watch the enemy flee!

While waiting for the elevator another lady stood beside me, she didn't reach for a button. She let me press the buttons and ultimately allowed me to control where she was going. Once she noticed that I was headed to the 7th floor, she said Oh we passed my floor. She was on the 6th. Why in the world would this woman allow a someone else, let alone a complete stranger to control her destination? There will always be others who will attempt to control your destination. They may interject in your life's decisions or may be bold enough to try to press some buttons for you. But they don't know your destiny, they don't know where you are headed. So don't let their choices direct the path God has cleared for you.

Remember the buttons come in a set, they are vertically aligned. Where there is persecution, the grace button appears on top. Where there is hatred, the love button rises above. Where there is debt, the blessing button outshines. Where there is disloyalty, the forgiveness button raises the standard. As you go about your day, remember there are two buttons - Jesus or Satan. Choose prayerfully.