with words which are encouraging when we may come to those moments where we want to give up, to quit—“to throw in the towel” as is done in boxing. Isaiah writes: “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (Isaiah 40:31).
Some days we just don’t feel like soaring, or running, or even walking, but the key to renewal, writes the prophet, is simply hope in the Heavenly Father. He understands, even when we feel like quitting. “Cast your cares [or burdens] on the Lord,” the Psalmist David writes, “and he will sustain you.”
The Ways of God
January 14
While on an overseas trip, I heard an intriguing story told to me by a proprietor of a tiny shop in Kowloon. He told me about a friend of his in northern India who had passed his academic examinations with flying colors and then accepted a good position in Calcutta, 36 hours by train from his home. On his first journey, the young man’s parents decided to accompany him.
Waiting to board the train, the young man became restless, pacing back and forth. Then he stopped to watch an elderly man squatting in a corner . . . apparently in quiet meditation. For a long time the old man didn’t move. Intrigued, the young man went over and said, “If you want to pray, why don’t you go to the God–House?”
“But God is everywhere,” was the simple reply.
So interested did the young man become with the praying person that when he finally looked around, the train was gone—with his parents on board. Bewildered, he berated the old man. “Why did you talk to me so long that I missed my train?”
“Do not fret, my son,” said the man. “All will be well.”
The youth didn’t think so as he was sending a wire to his parents to get off at the next city. But he did have cause for sober reflection when he later learned that a number of miles beyond the place his parents got off, a bridge was out. The speeding train had gone into a gorge, killing many. His plans and his life were changed because he stopped to watch a man pray.
His [God’s] eyes are on the ways of men; he sees their every step, says Job’s friend Elihu in the thirty–fourth chapter of Job. We dare not say that God is responsible for all that goes on in our world. Men build unsafe and poorly constructed bridges and buildings. These are simply facts of human life, as are other man–made tragedies.
The thirteenth chapter of Luke tells us that some in the crowd Jesus was addressing told Him of a group of Galileans in Jerusalem that had somehow run afoul of the Roman procurator, Pontius Pilate, the man who later sent Jesus to the Cross. Pilate ordered the execution of those Galileans. Those in the crowd who mentioned this story to Jesus thought their execution must have been due to some exceptional wickedness in their lives for God to allow such a tragedy to happen. “I tell you, no!” said Jesus; they were no more or less wicked than others of their compatriots at the time. He seemed to be saying, “Anyone can be killed . . . only God’s grace allows any to live.” Then he added this warning: “But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” [Jesus meant eternally.]
What about the youth who missed his train and saved his life while an elderly man prayed? We don’t know completely the mind of God. God does answer prayer, and a man was praying. Perhaps God had a special job for a special person along the way and this young man was marked to do it. We don’t know all the answers now, but some wonderful day we’ll understand.
Good Sportsmanship
January 15
The Olympic Games have become probably the greatest sports event in the world. The winter and summer versions are held every four years in various parts of this planet. They are seen by thousands in person and by many millions more on television. Not nearly as well–known are the Special Olympics that involve athletes who are mentally disabled.
An incident occurred in the Special Olympics held in Seattle that surely involved good sportsmanship. It happened in the 100 meter dash. The nine contestants took off at the sound of the gun and headed for the finish line. One boy, however, stumbled and fell to the ground, tears coming down his face. The other eight heard the boy cry and paused. Then all of them ran back, consoled the boy, linked arms, and all nine walked together to the finish line. The stadium erupted with a sustained standing ovation at this display of sportsmanship.
In the second book of Timothy, Paul, writing to his younger co–worker of that name, says:“If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor’s crown unless he competes according to the rules” (2Timothy 2:5). Those disabled young people were competing that day according to the highest rule in the world, that of love.
“Love one another,” said Jesus to his disciples. “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13) . . . or even his prospect of victory in the race or in the race of life. Adds Paul: “Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up” (1Corinthians 8:1b).
Here for all of us is a lesson in a loving concern for another, which triumphed over the very natural desire to win the race. Berton Braley, author of the poem, “The Prayer of a Sportsman,” once said it another way: “If I should lose, let me stand by the road and cheer as the winners go by.”
That, too, is good sportsmanship.
Dependable Promises
January 16
One of the simplest definitions of theology is “a body of doctrines concerning God” . . . and what we believe about how God shapes our lives. The promises of God are absolutely and completely dependable, not only for the future of the world but also for our future. In fact, those who follow the Savior are called “children of the promise” by Paul in the ninth chapter of Romans . . . that promise being new life now and in the life to come—supreme joy.
The Bible is simply packed with God’s promises to His people. For those needing comfort, Jesus promised peace. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (John 14:27). To a woman whose life was barren and dry, He promised the water of life: “Whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). For those wondering about tomorrow, the book of Hebrews records these words of the Heavenly Father: “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
Then we find this marvelous invitation and promise from the Master. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28–29).
These are just a few of the many marvelous promises of God, and like all good theology, they relieve, comfort, calm, and give peace, the peace that only God can give.
Reminded
January 17
You’ve all discovered, I am sure, that the simple act of remembering becomes a little more difficult year by year as we become older. Names slip from us. Even a short list of things we have memorized and then intended to get at the store might be forgotten by the time we get there. Sometimes we need to be reminded.
God’s Word, the Bible, is probably life’s greatest reminder. Yes, without
