Courage For Today

walking

Footprints for Others

Strength

My wife and I love to take an occasional stroll on the beach.  There’s really not much more relaxing than walking along the edge of the water and watching all the wonderful sights.  I especially enjoy watching all the children playing in the sand and building those sand castle masterpieces.  The kids on the beach are so intense with their sand buckets and shovels and are so proud of what they’ve built.  There’s just nothing like it.

On our most recent trip to the beach, we were able to do a little more walking than usual.  The beach meandered around the coastline for miles and miles.  We soon came across a pier that reached out into the ocean water several hundred feet or so. We thought that this would be a nice place to sit a few moments and catch our breath so we both sat off to the side of the pier observing all the busy fishermen testing their skills.  We found a nice shady spot next to some large concrete support beams which shielded us temporarily from the heat of the day.

As I sat there, I noticed that we weren’t the first ones of the day at this particular spot. There were the remains of a small sand castle that was fighting to stay in tact from the onslaught of the crashing waves.  The small footprints that were once fresh in the sand, no doubt the builders of the sand castle, were now just barely visible.   It would only be a few more dozen waves until the sand would be a clean slate again, ready for the next day’s activities. This was in stark contrast to the artwork I soon noticed in the concrete support beam next to us.  I wasn’t sure when the pier was built, but –at the time it was built–someone decided to place themselves in immortality by carving a small heart in the concrete with the names of themselves and their loved one.  It was hardened in the concrete for all to see for as long as the concrete was standing.

I thought to myself how symbolic this was of God’s Word and our Work in the Christian Life.  How often do we work and work and work, doing what we may feel the Lord has called us to do, only to see little reward—–at least in our own minds.  We wonder if anything we do in the Christian Life is permanent or simply temporary?  The important thing for us, as Christians, to remember is that if we are obedient, there will always be rewards if we don’t grow weary.

That day on the beach showed me two types of Works.  One that was temporary and one that was permanent.  Whatever you are doing for the Lord, keep it up. HIS work has permanent results and is never in vain.  Don’t quit and don’t grow tired.  It may be years before you see results, or the results may not even be in your lifetime, but you’ll always leave footprints hardened in the concrete for others to see, not washed away like the sands on the beach.

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary.  Galations 6: 9 (NIV)

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Choose to Let Your Ruins Come to Life

Self-Worth

I was walking through a residential area near my condo several months ago and was paying close attention to the many gorgeous homes of all colors, shapes, and sizes.  There were brick homes, two-story homes, ranch style homes and on and on.  It was a wonderful neighborhood with homeowners walking their dogs down the street and children playing in their front yards.  What caught my eye on this particular day was something I didn’t expect to see.  Sandwiched in between all these model homes was a decrepit, ugly home in dire need of repair.  The home was obviously abandoned and was in need of a tremendous amount of renovation.  I’m certainly no home repair expert, but there was no question that this home would require a lot of time and money to make it comparable to the other surrounding homes.  It was actually depressing to see what was probably a beautiful home in such disrepair, especially sitting amongst the other spectacular homes.

Not more than two weeks after I originally spotted the damaged home, I suddenly noticed a flurry of activity taking place.  All of a sudden, the home was surrounded by construction crews and equipment with workers moving in and out and around the home.  This abandoned home was now a beehive of activity.  There were roofers and carpenters and painters.  Obviously, someone had purchased the abandoned home and was spending a lot of money to make the necessary repairs and make the home livable once again.

I followed the construction progress and the efforts of the many, many workers over the course of the next several weeks.  It was amazing how the former eyesore of the neighborhood was being transformed into a magnificent new mansion.  What was once viewed as ruins was now coming to life in the form of a gorgeous new home.

I often think of my own Christian journey of faith and still stand amazed at how God has transformed my life.  Arguably, my life was like the shack I saw in our neighborhood—in disrepair and in need of some tender loving care.  God entered my life and transformed me into the person I am today.  What God has done in my life is nothing short of a miracle but the true miracle is that HE can do the same thing for you.

You may be looking at your own life and feeling like you don’t quite fit in.  You look around and you see others who appear to be smarter than you or better than you at something or, perhaps, seem to always get ahead in life.  You see others who always get the breaks and you seemingly want to raise your hands toward God and wave wildly while telling HIM, “Hey God, remember me!”  I know how you feel; I’ve been there myself.

As the renovation of the old home in my neighborhood was nearing completion, I noticed something truly startling.  The entire look of the home had changed.  A garage was added.  A front porch was added.  New landscaping was completed. New siding was added. Bright, new colors were used.  Having known what the home looked like before, I was amazed at its transformation.  I know homes don’t talk, but it was almost as if the home was proud of itself once again and what it had become at the hands of others.

God can do a similar transformation in your own life.  Don’t focus on others and what may be happening in their lives.  Don’t focus on what you haven’t done or mistakes you’ve made.  Instead, focus on what God has, can, and will do in your own life.  Allow the master carpenter to mold and shape you as never before and you’ll quickly see your own life move from ruins to royalty.

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The Peace in Learning to Enjoy the Journey

Encouragement

My wife and I had a great time this past summer visiting Stone Mountain Park, here in the Atlanta area, with our grandsons.  We had the opportunity to spend the day with them seeing the various sights and attractions and just had a wonderful time.  One thing that my grandsons had really wanted to do that particular day was climb to the top of the mountain.  Stone Mountain isn’t a particularly tall mountain and fortunately has walking trails to the top, but for a 5 and 6 year old, along with grandpa and grandma, it is a formidable task.

Even though our grandsons’ enthusiasm was much greater than mine and my wife’s, we relented and decided to start the slow trek up the mountain.   The beginning part of the trail was slow and gradual.  It seemed like we were taking forever to climb just a short distance, but I had to remind myself that it took 3 of their strides to equal 1 of ours, so I found myself walking ahead of them, then having to stop and let them catch-up, over and over again.

I was tired and sweaty, just wanting to get to the top of the mountain so I could rest and then start my way back.  I learned early on during our hike that this wasn’t going to be the case.  We had to stop and look at every large rock with someone’s name carved in it.  We looked at unusual plant formations.  We examined large trees that were growing crooked and we explored small rock overhangs that reminded the kids of caves. My grandsons viewed the hike as an exciting adventure.  Climbing the mountain was a trial to me and I was simply looking for the hike to be over with quickly before I succumbed to dehydration and heat stroke.  My grandsons were not focused at all on the trial of climbing the mountain; they were simply enjoying the journey of the hike.

I know when I face a trial in life, no matter what it is, I tend to dwell on the problem.  I want the trial to be over with quickly and let life get back to normal.  While I never enjoy being in the midst of a trial, I was reminded by my grandsons that I should always learn to enjoy the journey.  What can I learn during the course of the trial?  How can I grow?  What is God trying to teach me?

At some point, the trial will be over and we’ll be joyous for sure.  But, the real joy should not be that the trial’s over, but in celebrating what I learned during the journey.

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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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Resting in the Comforting Mist

Strength

Several years ago, my best friend and I decided to drive, one Saturday, to the North Georgia Mountains to hike.  We were still young and single and had nothing really better to do on a hot Saturday afternoon, so this would be something different and exciting for us to do.  Neither of us were avid hikers or really knew what we were doing, but it sounded like something to kill some time, if nothing else.

Off we drove for about 2 hours from Atlanta to North Georgia where we arrived at one of the State Parks.  It was gorgeous.  Campgrounds; picnic tables; playgrounds; and, of course, all set in the beautiful mountains.  I can still feel the crispness of the mountain air and how refreshing it all felt after the long drive.

The Park had several hiking trails, but we decided on hiking the trail that was marked as the most extreme.  Afterall, we were young, macho guys.  We didn’t want some wimpy walking trail.  We wanted to go for the most gusto—and we did.

The first part of the trail involved walking down what seemed like a thousand steps deep into a canyon.  From there, the trail began up and around various hilltops all amazingly marked with signs of various landmarks and types of wildlife.  It was as beautiful as we had hoped, but tiring.  It seemed like we must have walked 5 miles, but the hiking trail was only marked as a couple of miles.  The fact that we not walking on a level playing field obviously made it seem longer than it did.  We were both beginning to get very tired.  Being the experienced hikers that we were, we didn’t take any water with us so our mouths and throats were as dry as a desert.  We were suddenly discovering that we weren’t as macho as we thought we were and, to make matters worse, we had to hike back.

We had been hiking alongside a medium-sized river and seeing all that water just made us thirstier.  Just when we thought we couldn’t make it much further, we saw a small waterfall up ahead where the river we were following dropped off to a lower terrain. What really caught our eyes was that there was a ledge behind the waterfall where we could climb and actually sit and rest behind the waterfall.  We debated whether to continue hiking, or try to climb behind the waterfall and rest.  That was something I had seen in movies where people hiked behind the waterfall into some mystery cave or hideout, but I had never personally seen this before.  So, off we went.  Climbing down the ledge ever so carefully until we were actually behind the waterfall.  What an awesome sight! We literally sat there quietly watching the cool water from the river above us dropping right in front of and continuing downstream below us.

It was so refreshing. Watching the awesome power of the water while, at the same time, enjoying the cool mist blowing off the waterfall sprinkling us with much needed water. Not enough to soak us too much, but just enough to revitalize us for the journey back. We probably sat there for 30 minutes just soaking up the beauty and the cooling mist. What a blessing this was on that hot day, especially to think we almost talked ourselves into continuing our hike and we would have missed this opportunity at the waterfall.

I often think of my Christian Walk and how sometimes life just seems overwhelming. It reminds me so much of that day, many years ago, hiking in the mountains.  On that day, we walked and walked; uphill and downhill looking for the end of the trail and yearning for refreshment at the same time.   Finally, we found the mist of the waterfall and we forgot about our feelings and the long journey still ahead of us.  The comfort of the mist was worth the agony of the journey.  Whenever I have those overwhelming “life moments,” it helps me to just stop and have some quiet time with the Lord and simply wonder in His mighty grace and strength.  I couldn’t tell you how many times I missed fellowship with the Lord simply because I was too busy to slow down.  Just like that day on the trail, we would have missed the refreshing mist of the waterfall had we not stopped.  The “mist” of the Lord’s love and greatness is more than I need for any situation on any day and all that I need for the long journey ahead.

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We Are All Blessed By The Blessor

Encouragement

I was re-reading the account in Matthew Chapter 14 of Jesus walking on the water and His encounter with the Disciples.  If you haven’t read this passage recently, or at all, I would encourage you to check it out beginning with verse 21 through the end of the Chapter.  I suppose I’ve read this passage dozens of time, but this time the passage spoke to me in a way that I hadn’t experienced before.

I don’t know about you, but for me, it’s sometimes extremely difficult to live by Faith.  I understand that God is in control and I understand that I must follow His direction and guidance, but it sure is difficult at times, especially when things are not going the way I think they should.  I think that’s why this passage meant so much to me at this time.  The passage reminded me of the importance of living by faith, even when it’s difficult and even when it doesn’t make sense.  Afterall, it wouldn’t be faith if everything was easy.

I was reminded that our Faith comes by hearing and reading the Word of God.  This doesn’t mean that I won’t be scared to act or nervous about what is down the road.  It’s OK to be scared, just as the disciples were.  Walking by Faith can’t be ruled by emotions.  I’ve learned that living by Faith doesn’t necessarily get me the blessings I think I may deserve at the time, but it always gets me to the Blessor.  Let me repeat that.  Living by Faith may not get me the blessings I think I deserve, but it brings me closer to the Blessor and that’s the position I want to be in.

Where are you in your current Walk of Faith?  Are you like the disciples and scared and doubting?  If so, you’re not alone.  Lean on the Blessor and you’ll endure the storm.

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