The Word for today Ist Jan 2008
'Be strong and courageous.' Deuteronomy 31:6
When you try something for the first time, or something you've already failed at, you need courage. Remember learning to walk? First you tried standing on shaky limbs, smiled in short-lived triumph, kept falling down, cried in frustration, and got back up until you mastered the art of standing. Something inside you told you that you were meant for more than just lying in a crib. Then came the next stage; walking. Sounds simple enough; but it wasn't. That's because wobbling always precedes walking. And that's the difference between adults and infants. As an infant you weren't image-conscious. You just saw arms outstretched toward you and heard a loving voice saying, 'Come on, you can do it!' And you've been walking ever since!
That's why God says to anyone stepping into unknown territory, 'Be strong and courageous.' The word 'be' really means 'become.' Courage is a quality you grow into, like filling bigger shoes. The more you walk in them, the more comfortable they get. It's not like a software programme where you simply enter your password and 'hey presto,' you're courageous! Courage comes from spending time with God, seeing His arms outstretched toward you and hearing Him say, 'Come on, you can do it, I'm with you!'
On New Year's Eve our late King George VI once read these wonderful words to the British people: 'I said to the man who stood at the gate of the year, "Give me a light that I may tread safely into the unknown" and he replied, "Go out into the darkness and put your hand into the hand of God. That shall be to you better than light and safer than a known way!"' http://www.ucb.co.uk/word_for_today
2 comments:
I received this comment via e-mail in response to my New Year greeting and I wanted to share the last paragraph with my readers. I wish you a happy, healthy and successful New Year too and may the Lord continue to bless you as you continue to serve him with such intensity and kindness in St Mary's Church. Your service to Him is a shining example to us all and I strive to follow your lead. We must indeed be always aware of the countless people in those parts of the World where their very existence is a constant struggle and whose cheerfulness and acceptance of their situation and their appreciation of the Lord's presence in their lives puts us all in the shade. May we never forget the blessings that He has given us.
Solid post, good soul! Well done.
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