Don't Just Survive....thrive!

DON'T JUST SURVIVE...THRIVE!

Mark 10:46-52

A young man, who had worked for years on the railroad, wanted a job as a signalman for the railroad. For his interview, he was told to meet the inspector at the signal box. The inspector asked him, "What would you do if you realized that two trains were heading toward each other on the same track?" The young man said, "That's easy. I would switch the points for one of the trains." "The inspector then asked, "What if the lever broke?" The young man said, "Then I'd jump down out of the signal box and I'd use the manual lever over there." Next, the inspector said, "What if the lever had been struck by lightning?" The young man said, "Then, I would run to the signal box and phone the next signal box to let them know what was happening." The inspector continued on, "What if the phone was busy?" The young man said, "Well, in that case, I would rush down out of the signal box and use the public emergency phone at the crossing up there." Then, the inspector said, "What would you do if the public emergency phone had been vandalized?" The young man said, "Oh, well, then I would run into town and get my uncle." That answer puzzled the inspector. So, he asked, "Why would you go get your uncle?" The young man answered, "That's simple. Because he's never seen a train crash before."

Too many people today feel that their life is headed toward a crash. Their life feels like two trains headed directly toward each other and there is really nothing they can do to stop it from happening. For them, a crash seems inevitable. The crash may be a personality crash in a marriage or at work. The crash may be a financial crash or an employment crash. Whatever it is, for them, life seems to have come unglued and untracked. They feel as if they are "partly on track" and "partly off track." The final decision of where they will end up is yet to be decided.

Could that be how you feel today? Maybe you feel as if you have gotten off track. Maybe you feel that something is missing in your life and you just don't know what it is. Maybe you feel like you are about to crash. Let me ask you, is there a way out? Is there any hope? Are there any answers? Is there any way to stop the crash before it happens?

I want you to listen to me very carefully at this point. If you don't hear anything else that I say today, please hear this. By all means, there is hope! Let me say that again. There is hope. There is an answer. There is a way out. A crash in your life does not have to happen.

Where do we find that answer? Where do we turn? How do we stop the crash? Now, while there is an answer, we will not discover the hope or answer by reading our horoscope. We will not find the answer by calling a psychic hotline. You know, I always thought that if those people were really psychics, wouldn't they know that I needed help and wouldn't they call me instead of me having to call them? We will not find our hope by consulting a fortune cookie or by picking up a self-help book at the bookstore.

So, if the answers are not found in those places, where are the answers to be found? Simple. The answers to life's questions are found in Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to earth, sent by God our Heavenly Father, so that we might experience true life. Jesus came so that we could know true happiness, true peace, true joy, and true fulfillment. Jesus came so that we could genuinely know God and have a personal relationship with Him.

Now, unfortunately, rather than turning to God, rather than giving their life to Jesus Christ, too many people find themselves wondering helplessly through life. They are lost, confused, and they are going through a maze of discouragement and doubt. Again, it could be that is where you find yourself today. Maybe you feel as if you are headed toward disaster and you do not see a way out.

In Mark 10:46-52, Jesus gave us an example of a man who must have felt the same way as many of us, but who had his life turned around by the power of Jesus Christ. In this passage, Jesus showed us how one man's life was miraculously changed when he encountered Jesus. By giving us this story, Jesus showed us how our life can be turned around if we come to Jesus Christ. Now remember, coming to Jesus is the beginning point, both in these verses and in our daily life.