1. Push on through fears
Johnny Carver - As a boy growing up in the country I had heard scary stories about a snake called a "Black Racer" that would chase you. These stories kept me very alert as I walked up and down the gravel roads around where we lived. One day mom asked me to go to the neighbors house and borrow an iron because ours was broken. I started up the road with a watchful eye on each side of the road with its weeds grown up along the way. I could just imagine one of those "Black Racers" laying back in the shadows just waiting to slip up on me and bite me. I borrowed the iron and started back down the road toward home when I sensed something was following me. I looked over my shoulder and sure enough there in the road behind me was a snake just raising up to bite me. I took off with all the speed I could muster. I ran almost to the house and was almost unable to breathe when I looked over my opposite shoulder and there to my amazement was the iron cord dragging on the ground behind me. I had almost ran myself to death running from an iron cord. How often do we run from things in the same way just because we haven’t looked at them from the right perspecitve?...
Isa 41:10 Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
A first grader stood up in front of his class to give his speech, “What I Want To Be When I Grow Up.” He said, “I’m going to be a lion tamer and have lots of fierce lions. I’ll walk into the cage and they will roar.” He paused for a moment, thinking through what he just said, then added, “But of course I’ll have my Mommy with me.”...
One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, "Mommy, will you stay with me all night?" Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, "I can’t dear. I have to sleep in Daddy’s room." A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, "The big sissy!"
2. Proceed in Faith
Ps 37:1 Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.
Ps 37:2 For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither as the green herb.
Ps 37:3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Ps 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Ps 37:5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
Ps 37:6 And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.
A small boy riding a bus home from Sunday school was very proud of the card he had
received, which had a picture and a caption that read: “Have Faith in God.” Then to his
dismay the card slipped from his hand and fluttered out the window. “Stop the bus!” he
cried. “I’ve lost my ‘faith in God!’”
The driver pulled the bus to a stop, and as the lad climbed out and went to retrieve his
card, one of the adult riders smiled and made a comment about the innocence of youth. A
more perceptive adult observed, “All of us would be better off if we were that concerned
about our faith."
3. Prepare for your future
Pr 16:3 Commit thy works unto the LORD, and thy thoughts shall be established.
FBN - God gives permanent success to all who, in the diligent use of the appointed means, humbly commit their labors to him.
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally he decided the animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway , it just wasn’t worth the effort to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then to everyone’s amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later the farmer finally looked down the well and was astonished at what he saw. With every shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing! He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off....
There will be times in live when you may fail, you will fall, or some tradgety will come. Use it as stepping stones, as people throw this and that at you, step on top of it, don’t let Satan beat you down. Commit thy ways unto the Lord. Pretty soon you will be able to step out of that hole or get out from under the problem.
Bill and Gloria Gaither have written many wonderful Christian songs. One that Gloria wrote in the late 1960’s came while she was expecting a child. The couple was going through some terrible problems. Bill had been seriously sick, their music had been attacked as not being spiritual. On new years eve night, Gloria sat in a dark room experiencing a time of torment and fear. She said, “I sat alone in the darkness thinking about the rebellious world and all of our problems - and about our baby yet unborn. Who in their right mind would bring a child into a world like this?” She was at the height of her fear and then something happened. She said, “I can’t quite explain what happened in that next moment, but suddenly I felt released from it all. The panic hat had begun to build inside was gently dispelled by a reassuring presence and a soft voice that kept saying, ‘Don’t forget the empty tomb, don’t forget the empty tomb.’ Then I knew I could have that baby and face the future with optimism and trust for I had been reminded that it was all worth it just because He lives.”And she wrote: “How sweet to hold a newborn baby, and feel the pride and joy he gives; but greater still the calm assurance, this child can face uncertain days because He lives. Because He lives I can face tomorrow, because He lives all fear is gone, because I know He holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives....
