Courage for Today

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Rest in His Sheltering Arms

Strength

Let’s face it, we’ve all been through tough times at one point or another in our life.  In fact, some of you may be going through tough times even now.  Life has a way of throwing us challenges that aren’t always what we want them to be and they seem to always be at the worst possible times.  During these inevitable times of adversity and struggle, what do we do as Christians to make it through another day?

I was recently sitting out on my terrace enjoying the beautiful sunny day.  It was a great time just to catch up on my reading and have some study time.  The sun was blistering hot but, fortunately, I was sitting in the shade under the sheltering arms of an overhanging tree.  The breeze in the shade was wonderful and while the heat of the day was all around me, I was totally comfortable under the sun-blocking arms of the tree.  As long as I stayed under the protection of the tree, life was good; let me have to venture farther out on the terrace away from the tree’s protection and my life suddenly became very uncomfortable.

As I look back on my life, I can think of many times of trials and set-backs in my life.  I often wonder why things happened the way they did and how (maybe) they could have been prevented or had a different outcome.  In every case, I can trace the problem back to not following God in a particular situation.  In every situation, I took it upon myself to do what I thought was right and not what God thought was right—and I suffered the consequences.  I learned the hard way that God’s Word is like a sheltering tree in our life.  If you stay under the umbrella of HIS magnificent grace, mercy, and strength, our lives are much more enjoyable.  Yet, when we stray out from under HIS protection, life becomes uncomfortable and unbearable sometimes.

Where are you in your life journey?  Are you underneath God’s sheltering arms, or do you simply see the tree off in the distance but are outside His protection doing your own thing?  The choice is always yours; however, life is much more enjoyable under His protective arms.

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Don’t Allow Yourself to Flicker Out

Grace

I love campfires.  I especially love to sit around a campfire with good friends and a bag of marshmallows to roast.  Our family has done a lot of camping over the years and I have to admit that there’s just nothing better.  The coolness of the night; the stars shining up above; the warmth of the fire; and the gooey, sticky mess of roasted marshmallows on a stick.  Just the thought and the imagery makes me want to go camping right this minute.

I can vividly remember one particular camping trip and sitting around the campfire that evening.  For some reason, I was the only one sitting around the campfire.  Everyone else had already gone to bed.  It was so peaceful.  The reds and yellows and oranges of the fire and the crackling of the wood slowly burning.  There’s something quite peaceful and relaxing about watching a campfire at night.  I must have been sitting there alone, watching the fire, for half an hour or so when my eye caught one small coal streaking from the body of the fire, landing just short of my foot.  In fact, I thought for a split second this hot ember was going to land on my foot.  But, it didn’t.

I watched this coal, separated from the body of the main fire, flicker and burn for some time, probably 15 minutes.  It would alternate between a dull, barely visible yellow and then quickly burst into a bright orange as a gust of wind blew over it.  From dull to bright, I watched this lone ember seemingly fight for it’s survival.  While the main campfire burned steadily and brightly, the single ember finally lost its fight and flickered out.

How often my Christian life has mirrored this single ember.  For a while, I was prayerful with Christ and leaned on him for my every need.  For a while, I was reading God’s word regularly.  For a while, I was praying regularly.  For a while, I was having fellowship with other Christians and witnessing to non-Christians.  Then, over time, I became like the ember separated from the fire. I became isolated from God.  I couldn’t find time for God anymore.  I didn’t need to pray as often; I just tried to fix everything myself.  I didn’t fellowship with other believers and didn’t bother myself with witnessing to others.  Just like the ember, I spiritually began to burn out.  I flickered.  I fought.  I tried to survive.

God, with HIS mercy, graced me with a fresh breeze of HIS love that rekindled my desire for HIM.  For the first time in a long time, I felt part of the main “campfire” again.  I wasn’t a lone ember struggling for survival.

How would you describe your relationship with HIM today?  Are you burning brightly, or are you the lone ember waiting for a gust of wind to reignite your flame?  The Lord never turned His back on me; I turned my back on HIM.  He’s there at this moment with arms open wide, waiting for you to come Home to HIM, just as He welcomed me.

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