Try Again

Wow! I read a great devotional by Max Lucado this morning. Here's part of it.

The Bible says that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1). Thousands upon thousands of saved saints are looking down on us. Abraham. Peter. David. Paul... and Joshua. Your grandma, uncle, neighbor, coach. They’ve seen God’s great grace, and they are all pulling for you.

Press your ear against the curtain of eternity and listen. Do you hear them? They are chanting your name. They are pulling for you to keep going.

“Don’t quit!”

“It’s worth it!”

“Try again!”

After reading this, it reminded me of how many times I have failed at something and wanted to quit forever. Maybe you have done the same thing. 

Maybe you set goals about trying to implement a quiet time and it lasted a week. Or maybe you set a goal to lose weight or exercise and you were eating brownies by the second day. Perhaps your goal is to really be patient with your coworkers and show Christ to them but after a really stressful day, you found yourself acting like an unsaved person. I hate when I do that.

I have the very best intentions and set wonderful goals about what I want to accomplish. I want to write this blog everyday and I can't seem to do it. But the enemy wants to kill, steal and destroy. He genuinely wants us to fail. And he knows what triggers to push. When he makes me stumble, I want to give up say, "I am not equipped to do this."

This verse was a much needed reminder that "we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses" who are cheering us on. What a smile this brings to my face. Moses is cheering me on and I will thank him one day when we meet. Abraham and Joshua and Joseph and some of my other favorites want me to be "fit" and they are cheering me on. They are cheering you on, as well. So pick up the pieces and get busy!

Get Started

“All the Israelites gathered together at Shiloh where they set up the Meeting Tent. The Israelites controlled that country. They had defeated all the enemies in that land. But at this time there were still seven tribes of Israel that had not yet received their land. So Joshua said to the Israelites, “Why do you wait so long to take your land? The Lord, the God of your ancestors, has given this land to you.”
Joshua 18:1-3 ERV

This is another one of those verses that I forget is in the Bible:). Maybe only a teacher can see the similarity to her students and the children of Israel. Joshua is a little surprised that the promised land is conquered and yet still undivided. The next verses in the Bible are a list from Joshua of what needs to be done to divide the land.

It made me smile because it really sounds like an email I got last night from a student. He just can't take any steps without me to get ready for a test we are having today. Joshua is probably feeling the same way with the children of Israel.

Just like my student and just like the Israelites, they don't seem to want to think for themselves. But wait...am I like that sometimes? There are some obvious steps that I can take to "become fit for his glory." I just seem to want to wait until someone kicks me to make me get started. I already know what to do-maybe today is a good day to start.

Get Moving!

10 When the Israelites saw Pharaoh and his army coming toward them, they were very frightened and cried to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt? Did you bring us out here in the desert to die? We could have died peacefully in Egypt; there were plenty of graves in Egypt. 12 We told you this would happen! In Egypt we said, ‘Please don’t bother us. Let us stay and serve the Egyptians.’ It would have been better for us to stay and be slaves than to come out here and die in the desert.”

13 But Moses answered, “Don’t be afraid! Don’t run away! Stand where you are and watch the Lord save you today. You will never see these Egyptians again. 14 You will not have to do anything but stay calm. The Lord will do the fighting for you.”

15 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Why are you still crying to me? Tell the Israelites to start moving. 
Exodus 14:10-15

You got to love this story.  Moses had led the children of Israel out of Egypt in a miraculous display of strength. They were camping beside the Red Sea and low and behold they saw the Egyptian army following them. They froze in fear. Moses made a promise of astounding faith, "Stand where you are and watch the Lord save you." and then God said…

"Why are you still standing around?"  

"Get moving."

There are times when we should wait and there are times when we should be moving. This blog is not about the times when we should be waiting. This is about the times when we should be moving. 

I recently rode a zip line for the first time.  I was not afraid when I was stepping into the harness and putting on the protective helmet.  I did not mind climbing the stairway up to the top to be buckled in for the jump. . However, I knew that the jump off the platform was going to be the scary part. 

There are a lot of times when God asks me to step out in faith. If I look at the times when I obey, I observe one thing.  I am 100% successful if I step out immediately instead of having long, drawn out arguments in my mind deciding if I should obey. Sometimes I do argue with the Lord and end up being obedient…but it is less likely to occur than when I am instantly obedient. 

A couple of examples come to mind. I was driving to work one morning and saw an elderly woman struggling to keep her umbrella open in the pouring rain. I felt so strongly that God asked me to give her a ride. It went against all logic for me to obey because I was afraid of not knowing where to take her(I am terrible with directions) and I was worried I may not get to work on time. But I was instantly obedient. The experience is a wonderful memory of helping a woman who cleaned for Old Navy and desperately needed a ride to work. I was so thankful I did not miss that opportunity to serve an angel in disguise.

However, last week almost the same exact situation came up.  I had prayed that morning that God would provide me an opportunity to serve someone today. I was driving home and saw a very physically challenged man, struggling to cross the street in the pouring rain. I felt that same tug in my heart to stop and give him a ride to his destination. But instead of immediate obedience as before, I thought of all the reasons that I should not stop. Of course, I talked myself out of it.

Back to the zip line…I came to the top of the stairs and was tightly hooked in to the harness. The  young man explained that he would count to three and we would jump. If we did not jump with in 1 minute, then we would have to climb back down so others could have a turn. I knew that it was an act of faith. Would I trust the harnesses and the ropes to bring me to the ground a million(okay maybe a slight exaggeration)  feet below? I knew it would depend on if I acted instantly, without hesitation. On the count of three, I jumped!!! I would have missed the thrill of a zip line if I had stopped to examine all the ways that it was not a good idea. I hope the next time that God whispers a good idea in my ear, I move without hesitation.