Courage For Today

park

Never Shaken

Strength

“Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken but endures forever.  As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds his people both now and forevermore.”  (Psalms 125:1-2)

My wife and I have been on vacation this week and had the pleasure of spending a day visiting Providence Canyon State Park in Georgia.  It is a State Park that I had only read about and had only heard about, but never visited.  It is a beautiful park known as Georgia’s “Little Grand Canyon” with gorgeous rock formations and caves, along with a surprised deer or two and seemingly never-ending tree-lines.

During our time in the park, we made a choice to hike along one of their many available trails.  This particular trail took us down a long and winding path gradually inching us closer to the valley at the bottom of the canyons.   When we finally reached the canyon floor, we began to walk along a dried creek bed that twisted through the canyons sandwiching us between the multi-faced walls of rock formations on each side of us.

It was such an interesting feeling for me as I walked down the creek bed surrounded by this fortress of stone.  The quietness of the moment was so peaceful and calm.  The walls of the canyon gave me a sense of protection and strength.  Even though I was walking in the deepest valley of the canyon, I felt calmer and more strengthened than I did at the top of the canyon.  In fact, the more I walked along the valley floor, the more I witnessed and experienced the strength of the surrounding mountain walls.

At some point in your Christian life, you will face adversity and heartache.  There will be times when you feel like you can’t carry on any further and you just want to give up.  You’ll have those days when the world is seemingly against you and the valley you are in seems too deep to overcome.  It is during those times, you should remind yourself that you are truly surrounded by the Lord both now and forever.  Your valley doesn’t have to be a place of hurt and failure; instead, let it be your reminder of the strength and majesty that is God surrounding your life with a fortress that cannot be shaken.

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Don’t Be Afraid to Expose Yourself

Self-Worth

My Wife and I were fortunate to be able to attend a Christian Music Festival recently in the Atlanta Area.  The Festival was set-up in a beautiful section of a large State Park.  We had an opportunity to sight-see and visit all the attractions in the Park and then drive over to the section where the Main Stage and Concerts were being held.  There were thousands of people there to see such groups as Casting Crowns and 10th Avenue North among many others.  It was hot and crowded, but it was such a joy to be around other fellow believers.

Earlier in the day, my wife and I were walking around other parts of the Park enjoying the sights and sounds and hiking down various nature trails.  It was really beautiful.  As we were walking around, a couple came up to us and said “can’t wait for the concert tonight; who is your favorite group?” My first thought was who was this couple and how did they know we were going to the Concert that night?  I had forgotten that when we bought our tickets, we were given a blue wristband to wear which allowed us unlimited entry around all parts of the park, as well as the concerts.  This couple had noticed our blue wristbands and immediately realized we were attending the concerts that evening and, most likely, were Christians.  After my initial shock, we had a lengthy, friendly conversation and then went our separate ways.  As we walked around, we encountered others with blue wristbands which really broke the ice and opened the door for many friendly conversations and chances to meet others.  The blue wristbands stood out from the normal visitors to the Park and identified us among fellow believers.

It reminded me of my own Christian witness to others.  No, I don’t wear a blue wristband everywhere and I don’t have a sign on my back that says “I am a Christian.”  However, the Bible teaches that my life and my witness to others should leave no doubt that I am a Christian.  We, as Christians, are called to be the salt of the Earth and the Light of the World.  Our lives should stand out among the World, not in an arrogant way, but in a Christ-like way.  The World is full of hypocritical lives and living; Christians shouldn’t be part of that argument.  When others view our lives, we should be as consistent as possible, with God’s help, in our Christian Walk.  We should always lead our lives in a manner that welcomes others in, not in a manner that pushes others away.

When others hear your name, what do you think is the first word that comes to their mind?  Is it  “Christian”?  If not, you can change that perception today with God’s strength.

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Calm During the Storm

Strength

Several years ago, my wife and I were invited by some friends of ours to spend an afternoon on the Lake in their Cabin Cruiser.  It didn’t take us long to say “yes.”  After all, what could be more relaxing than a lazy day boating, fishing, and swimming?

It took my wife and I about an hour to drive to the lake, a large lake in the North Georgia Area.  The afternoon was beautiful.  The sun was shining.  The wind was slightly blowing.  It couldn’t have been a prettier day.  We had the opportunity to cruise the lake and park the boat in a large, private cove.  I can remember jumping in the water and swimming in the beautiful water until I was so tired, I had to climb back on the boat.  After we took time to eat a relaxing lunch on the boat and were bored of this particular spot, we took off for another part of the lake, cruising at top speed with the wind blowing in our hair.  Not a worry in the world.

Seemingly within minutes, we noticed the water getting choppier and the sky getting cloudier.  We didn’t think much about it; after all, summer rain showers come and go all the time.  Besides, we were having too much fun.  Of course, by then we were no where near the nearest shore and were somewhere in the middle of this gigantic body of water.  The winds got stronger.  The waves got higher and rougher.

At first, I wasn’t too scared.  It reminded me somewhat of the boat on the old TV Show, Gilligan’s Island.  We were tossing around some, but nothing too drastic.  Our friend, who was driving the boat, decided that we had better play it safe and head for shore just in case the pending storm worsened.  That turned out to be the wisest decision of the day.

As we started heading back, we noticed Park Rangers cruising around and warning people to get to shore as quickly as possible.  We noticed another Ranger that was helping some stranded passengers on another boat.  The wind blew increasingly stronger to the point it was actually stinging our faces. We had to push the boat to its limits to get to shore, but our faces paid a painful price in the process.

The boat dipped, and tossed, and dipped, and tossed.  I really thought that we were going to need rescuing ourselves.  The bow dipped and water rushed across the deck.  Not enough to cause any damage, but for a land-lover like me, it was more water than I wanted to see.

After seemingly an eternity we made it to the nearest shore.  Not a shore with a dock mind you, but a shore nonetheless.  We anchored the boat in shallow water and jumped in the waist deep water to walk to shore.  We held on to a rope from the boat so the boat wouldn’t drift off in the lake since we weren’t confident the anchor would hold.

Suddenly, without any warning, a tree from the nearby shore snapped from the wind and crashed in the water near us.  I don’t know why I didn’t have a heart attack, but I probably should have.  As if being on the Lake in the middle of a storm wasn’t scary enough, now we were almost crushed by a fallen tree as we tried to get to safety.

Somehow, by the Grace of God, we made it to shore and found a small Campground Restroom where we took shelter and rode out the storm.  There’s nothing like being in a restroom shelter in the middle of what seemed like a hurricane to humble you and make you feel really thankful for your many blessings.

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