One Card Left Series

Jesus wants us to play the hand we are dealt. Go all in and have faith that God will do a miracle. For example: When Shadrack, Meshack, and Abendigo were thrown into the fire by King Nebuchadnezzar God turned their three hearts into three kings. Nebuchadnezzar wanted them to die but God wanted them to live. When Jonah tried to fold his cards God sent a whale to take him where he needed to be. God turned his two of clubs into an ace and an entire city was saved because of it. When Jesus gave his life it looked like the enemy won, but God changed everything and Jesus is victorious.

After Dave Anderson’s dismal failure with his Mothers Day Flower fiasco he was down but not out. He still had one card left and it was a burning desire to stay in the game. He was hopeful that tomorrow would be a better day. He landed a job working for the American Can Company selling Dixie cups, Marathon paper towels, and tissue to restaurants. To get his foot in the door he took the worst territory and worked as hard as he could. He spend hours practicing his salesmanship in front of the mirror and it paid off. In six months he took his route from worst to first in sales.

In 1982 Dave’s tribe, the Lac Courte Orielles Lake Superior Ojibwa in northwest Wisconsin, came looking for him. They were losing money and it was affecting people lives. They asked Dave to be their new CEO and he accepted their offer. Over the next three years Dave led the tribes’ business interests including a cranberry marsh, a print shop, and a construction company, from a gross income of 3.9 million to more than 8 million.

His success with the tribe prompted then President Reagan to recognize Dave in the Commission on Indian Reservation Economies. He was also asked to sit on numerous state and local advisory boards. Then Dave worked with the Mille Lacs Tribe for several years and created thousands of new jobs.

In 1994 Dave began to pursue his real passion; food. He co-founded the Rain Forest Café and it made him wealthy. He used some of his wealth to purchase a small resort in Hayward Wisconsin. There he planned on opening a restaurant that had made great BBQ. He intended on calling it Dave’s Famous BBQ but the printer made a mistake and wrote down Famous Dave’s and the name stuck.

When Dave failed to sell his first case of oil conditioner he could have folded his hand. When he made money selling dish gardens to florists he could have just held on and made a deiocre living for the rest of his life. After losing everything he had over Mother’s Day weekend in 1979 Dave could have walked away or ran from his failures. But he didn’t. He stayed in the game and his perseverance paid off.

This morning you may be here with only one card left. Maybe you feel hopeless. Whatever is on your mind whether it’s your kids, your parents, your friends, your job, your marriage, your future, God wants you to take the one card you have left in your hand and give it to him. Let God turn that deuce into an ace. Let him change the odds. Never give up. Never throw down your cards believing that all hope is lost. Life is packed with ups and downs. And sometimes when it looks like you lost you may have won. That’s just how it is. What you do with the cards you are given determines whether or not you will come out a winner or loser. AMEN