The Slump

Monday, July 5, 2010

Josh O’Reilly, manager San Antonio Club in the middle of the last century, had a roster of great players but they were in a slump. They experienced loss after loss. O’Reilly knew he had a team of powerful and successful hitters, but they had lost confidence in themselves. He wanted to help them to regain belief in their ability to hit. O’Reilly asked each player to give him his two best bats. They were to stay in the clubhouse until he returned. He put the bats in a wheelbarrow and off he went with them. An hour later he returned and told them he’d gone to Schlater, a popular neighborhood preacher who claimed to be a faith healer. The manager told his players that the preacher had blessed the bats. He said the bats contained a power that could not be overcome. The players were delighted and enthusiastic about the news. The next day they overwhelmed Dallas. They won again and again. They even won their way to the championship that year.

Now what happened to the San Antonio team? What caused their amazing turnaround? Was there power in the bats? No, it was in their minds. They began thinking in terms of expectation, not doubt. They began to expect the best. A new thought pattern changed the men and they lived up to those new expectations.

What do you do when you’re in a slump? Do you complain that good fortune always passes you by? Do you eventually give up and settle for less than your best? Do you begin to expect the worst and then always get it? How do you get re-charged when you get it a slump? Consider going to the real source of power, the power we get through our faith. The New Testament provides powerful scripture to inspire us and encourage us to get out of a slump. Norman Vincent Peale compiled 40 scripture passages that he called 40 Thought Conditioning Verses and suggested we memorize them and let them fill our conscious with positive thoughts. Following these faith concepts will change us from skeptics to expecters and then achievers.

Enjoy these “thought conditioning verses” –

Thought Conditioner No. 1
The things which are impossible with men are possible with God. Luke 18:27
Thought Conditioner No. 2
Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. John 14:27
Thought Conditioner No. 3
Renew a right spirit within me. Psalm 51:10
Thought Conditioner No. 4
Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28
Thought Conditioner No. 5
What things you desire, when ye pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. Mark 11:24