Sheryl Brady - Wait for the Wind

The Message Bible for this one right here. I wanted it to be in the Message Bible, Proverbs 20:25. How many of you know wisdom is so important? I love to shout, I love to holler, I love to do all that fun stuff, but when I walk out of here, I want to have my mind right, and I want to make wise decisions and choices. So, wisdom is imperative. I want to focus on the 25th verse right here; the Bible says that an impulsive vow is a trap. An impulsive vow is a trap, and later, you wish you could get out of it. Has anyone ever found themselves in something they wished to get out of? Some of you are right now, sitting right next to them. Don’t say a word about it—I know. Today, I want to take just a few moments. I’m not going to be long, but I want to talk about breaking the impulses that bring unnecessary stress. Look at somebody and tell them, «You gotta break it! You gotta break it!» Spirit of God, bless this food that we are about to eat. We honor you today for your presence. We thank you for being rich in this place. Now, say whatever you want to say in this church. Touch everyone here in this place, and we’ll give you glory for it in Jesus' name. Amen, amen. On your way down, just touch somebody and tell them, «You gotta break it! You gotta break every impulse! You gotta break every impulse that leads to unnecessary stress.» Has anybody gone shopping on Black Friday or Saturday? Lift your hands—don’t be shy, just lift them! See, there are a lot of us who went out shopping on Black Friday. How many of you bought gifts for someone else? No, we lost half the crowd right there. How many of you went shopping on Black Friday and bought something for yourself? I’m not alone! I did; I went out on Black Friday. I hardly ever do that, but my chair—my favorite chair, y’all know what kind of chair that is—broke over the Thanksgiving holiday, and I was like, «I gotta have a new chair!» So, I left my house and started out to find a chair. I knew where I wanted to go, and the problem was, I could see the store but couldn’t get near it—probably because all of you were out there shopping! I couldn’t get near. That’s frustrating when you can see something and know where you’re going—you can see it, almost touch it, but can’t quite get there. That was frustrating! And what was even more frustrating was that it wasn’t just cars in my way; there were people everywhere! They were walking in the streets, and I thought, «Who said we were gonna turn this street into a sidewalk?» I mean, just tons of people! Traffic was everywhere; people were everywhere. Parents were out there trying to hold hands with their children so they wouldn’t get hit by those trying to drive on what is called a road. I had to deal with that! I also saw grown kids pushing their elderly parents in wheelchairs. I saw parents pushing their children and grown children pushing their parents. As I looked at all of that, I thought, «Man, that’s a beautiful picture right there, ” but I was so stressed out that I couldn’t see the beauty of the picture because I was really wanting to get to the store. It was a beautiful thing, but it was a stressful thing. They say the most stressful time of the year for the majority of people is the time that falls between Thanksgiving and Christmas. One article I read said that it actually falls number six among the most stressful life events. This particular season we are in right now is right up there, the article said, with the death of a loved one, divorce, loss of a job, or having to pack up and relocate. People are stressed this time of year, and I want to help us today so we don’t take what God meant to be a blessing of a season and fall into the trap of it becoming a stressful season. So, touch somebody next to you and tell them, „Chill out! Chill out! It is His birthday; it’s not yours, it’s His!“ But people stress—they stress out for a lot of reasons, and stress is a killer. I’m not a doctor, and I’m not trying to act like one, but I know that stress can ultimately build up; it’s like compound interest—it just adds up on you, and you find yourself under it, unable to get out. People stress about gifts, finances, disappointing their children, disappointing their spouses, family, or friends. Some worry and stress out because of empty seats around the family table this year that were filled last year but with certain people we lost. Others stress out not because of who’s missing but because of who they think is going to be there. And so it’s…