Have you ever felt as though you were dealt a bad hand in life?  Do you feel like all your life you have been living in a storm?  Maybe you have been thinking of throwing in the towel and giving up.

         

We often take the most precious thing God has given us, which is life itself, for granted. We have been counting our lemons instead of our blessings. Then suddenly we run across something or someone who helps us get our life back into perspective. That is exactly what happened to me when I read William Boyd Chisum book, Chasing the Wind.

 

Boyd shares with his readers about his continuous challenges and struggles in life. If anyone ever had the excuse to quit, it would be Boyd. After having over 60 surgeries on his hips and being hospitalized over 3,277 days of his life, which is almost 9 years, one would be tempted to ask the question, “Is life worth living?” Yet William Boyd Chisum has risen above all this and more and has experienced incredible victory due to his relationship with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.     

 

I have found in my own life’s journey that the storms we face daily can beat down on us enough until we are blinded to any peace or victory that God wants to give us. But the apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:11, “Not that I speak in need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.”

 

One key to living above our storms in life is to learn to be content in the way we are. We wrestle with turmoil within ourselves because our human nature is to always want more.  We compare ourselves to the next guy and believe we deserve what we think is “the good life.” 

 

However, when we learn to be content and trust in God’s plan, we then rise above our daily storms. “For I know the plans that I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29: 11. Our struggles take on a whole different perspective when we see them through God’s promises. William Boyd Chisum has risen above the surgeries, hospitals and heartbreaks by trusting God’s promises. In doing so, he has allowed God to use him to encourage others to do the same.         

         

You are about to take a journey through a man’s life that will challenge your own outlook on life. By the time you have finished reading Chasing the Wind, you will find yourself rising above your own storms. Enjoy your journey.