As a fan of
professional football, this is an exciting time of year. It’s playoff season.
There are 32 teams in the league and at the end of the regular season only 12
teams extend their season into the playoffs. As of today there are only four
teams left. This weekend two games will occur, and the winners of those two
games will face off in the Super Bowl during the first weekend of February.
One of the things that
make the playoffs so exciting is that anything can happen. This past weekend
the team with the best record in the league was eliminated by a team that
barely made it into the playoffs. While many of the games in the regular season
are blowouts or otherwise unexciting, each team in the playoffs has earned the
right to be there. The level of play is elevated and the games are more
interesting to watch.
When you’re watching a
great game, it’s a shame that one of the teams has to lose and be eliminated.
As the game draws near to the end and it becomes more evident which team is facing
elimination, you see the desperation as they pull out all the stops. They think
bigger; they take more risks. The really
exciting games are the ones that aren’t decided until the last play of the
game. When teams are neck-in-neck, they both raise their level of play, and the
players sometimes seem to find another gear as they push each other to perform
at their highest potential.
How is this like the
Christian life? Think of it this way: a football game isn’t over until there’s
no time left on the game clock. Sure, there are cases where games go to
overtime, but the vast majority of games end when the clock runs out. Just like
a football game, a Christian only has a finite amount of time to be on the
field, making plays for the team and for the coach. After the clock runs out,
the impact of the individual’s efforts cannot be changed. What’s done is done,
and it’s too late to go back and add anything to it.
While we don’t have the
advantage of seeing how much time is left on the clock in our lives, we can
still make efforts to “up our game” and play to our full potential. Are you
disciplined in your spiritual diet (do you consume good things and avoid bad
things)? Are you surrounding yourself with people that push you to operate at
your highest level?
When we’re done with
this life, we’re going to want to be able to say “I left it all out there on
the field.” Don’t keep anything in reserve; use it all up before the clock runs
out. If you do that, believe me, the coach is going to take notice.
Want to hear some really exciting news? It doesn’t take much for God’s spiritual power to
be available to you.
Not long ago I was
reading in the book of Ephesians. It’s hard for me to read Paul’s letters. He
sometimes gets so excited that he starts a sentence focused on one topic, gets
distracted and sort of rambles on about something for awhile, then ends up in a
totally different area. To me, a single sentence of Paul’s can seem like the
Israelites wandering around the desert. Despite all the detours though, he
eventually arrives at his destination.
I’m blessed to have a
study bible that explains a lot of the text, context, and/or traditions of the
day that help me understand the text as it was originally written. In Ephesians
3:14-19, Paul expressed to his audience his desire that God would make His love
and fullness known to them. The part I want to zoom in on is verse 16: “…that He would grant you, according to the
riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the
inner man…”
Having a study Bible
helps me quite a bit when it comes to catching the main theme of what Paul’s
saying. For this verse, notes from the McArthur Study Bible say “Spiritual
power is a mark of every Christian who submits to God’s Word and Spirit. It is
not reserved for some special class of Christian, but for all those who
discipline their minds and spirits to study the Word, understand it, and live
by it. Although the outer, physical person becomes weaker with age, the inner,
spiritual person should grow stronger through the Holy Spirit, who will
energize, revitalize, and empower the obedient, committed Christian.”
Isn’t that amazing? If
you discipline yourself to regular study of the Bible and heed what it says,
God grants you access to something you didn’t have before. It’s extraordinary just
how ordinary it is. That brings me back to my point at the top of this post. It doesn’t take much for God’s
spiritual power to be available to you. Discipline yourself to study the Word, understand it, and
live by it.
Skipping ahead in
Ephesians to chapter 5, verses 15 and 16, Paul tells us how to spend our days: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not
as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Zeroing
in on that phrase “redeeming the time” in the notes helps lay out how we are to
be purposeful in our lives. Again, from the McArthur Study Bible: “The Greek
word for “time” denotes a fixed, measured, allocated season; with the definite
article “the,” it likely refers to one’s lifetime as a believer. We are to make
the most of our time on this evil earth in fulfilling God’s purposes, lining up
every opportunity for useful worship and service. Be aware of the brevity of
life.”
Be intentional in how
you spend your time, energy, and resources. To borrow a spinoff saying I saw on
tee shirts back when Reebok’s slogan was popular, “Life is short. Pray hard.”
The year 2020 is still
shiny and new, and it’s not too late to start working on some good habits. In
your life, if you combine the concept of “study the Word, understand it, and
live by it” with the concept of “redeeming the time,” you’re going to see some
exciting developments. God prompted me to write this, then He prompted you to
read this, and where it goes from here I don’t have a clue. That’s the beauty
of it though; even though you and I may only see a piece or two of the puzzle,
it’s all building toward a bigger picture. The key to it is that you and I have
to put forth some regular effort.
One of the first “grown
up” movies I saw as a kid was “Back to the Future.” It was a movie about a
high-schooler that used a crazy scientist’s time machine to travel back in time
30 years to when his parents were in high school themselves. It was my
introduction to the time travel aspect of science fiction, and I thought it was
pretty cool.
Two sequels followed. A
couple of my friends and I all loved the trilogy, and the three of us were
constantly quoting different parts of the movies to each other. We even had a
“Back to the Future” night for my buddy’s birthday sleepover, where we watched
all three movies in one night. A couple of years later I was a roommate with
that same buddy at a summer camp where we worked. One night after lights out I
recited the script of the entire first movie from memory to him.
This is an extreme (or
maybe misguided) example of what an engaged mind can do when it obsesses over
something. The three of us were around each other and tossed quotes back and
forth so often that they became second nature to us. The things we spent time
thinking about became the things most important in our relationship to one
another.
In the book of Philippians,
Paul tells readers to dwell on the things that are worthy of being, well,
dwelled on:
And now, dear brothers
and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable,
and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are
excellent and worthy of praise. –Philippians 4:8 (New Living Translation)
I don’t think “Back to
the Future” quotes qualify, but I can see why Paul makes the point. The things
you frequently think about are the things your mind is moving toward.
Now that Christmas and
New Years have passed and we’re closer to getting back into the normal routine,
I challenge you to “think on” the things mentioned in Philippians 4:8. As far
as quiet time with God, prayer, doing Bible readings, or some other type of
devotionals, if you’re not someone who regularly practices them, consider
building those items into your 2020 routine. If you do them sporadically, but not
on a regular basis, consider doing them more routinely.
Try doing them for 30
days in a row. The reason you’ll often hear people talking about doing
something for 30 days is because that’s roughly how long it takes to develop a
new habit. In other words, if you were going to make this a part of your routine
for the rest of your life, the first 30 days would be the most difficult to
accomplish; after that it would be habitual and would require less conscious
effort to complete.
God can use you for
great things. Take the first step toward embracing that calling by spending
time dwelling on the things Christ taught and did. Hopefully by this time next
year, you’ll be closer to/more in tune with God than you are right now.
Man, when I was a kid,
the final few days before Christmas were an exciting time. We didn’t do Santa,
so we had the presents sitting out under the tree for days, or even weeks,
ahead of time. As Christmas got closer, the pile under the tree got bigger.
Normally I was pretty
good. Sure, I’d pick up the presents and give ‘em a shake every now and then,
but usually didn’t do anything too crazy. There was one year, though, where my
parents headed out for the evening, leaving my sister and I home alone with all
those presents under the tree.
I don’t remember what I
was looking for, I think I was just excited about the opportunity to try out an
idea I’d had earlier. Soon after the coast was clear, I brought out the
scissors and the tape. Using one of the scissor’s blades, I carefully sliced
the tape on one of the presents with my name on it. I was able to open up the
wrapping paper enough to see what was hidden inside, then fold everything back
up the way it was and put a new piece of tape right over the one I’d cut. Only
a very careful inspection would reveal what had happened.
I went through most of
my gifts this way. I learned what was waiting for me, then restored all the
wrapping jobs. My sister, meanwhile, only wanted to know about one of hers. For
the life of me, I can’t remember any of the things I snuck a peek at, but I
remember that my little sister, with the “keys to the kingdom” that her devious
older brother offered her, was perfectly content to know for sure that she was
going to be receiving the animated version of “Beauty and the Beast” and didn’t
care to find out about any more until it was actually the appropriate time to
open them.
This time of year, with
many new memories of time spent with loved ones, is generally thought of as one
of the happiest seasons. But then it’s all over. The gifts are exchanged,
everyone travels back home, and the decorations are all put away. There’s really
nothing wrong with celebrating with the special people in your life, but it’s
very important to realize that everything here in this life is temporary. Lower
your expectations for how happy this world will make you.
Even something that’s
bright, shiny, new, and sparkly on Christmas morning soon fades in either its
actual luster or the level of interest you have in it. That’s why it’s so
important for people seeking true happiness to place their hope and joy in
Jesus Christ, someone whose luster will never fade.
This is my last post of
the year. I hope you all enjoy special time celebrating Christ’s birth with
loved ones this week. Rest up and enjoy some downtime!
Thanks for reading; I
wish you all a Merry Christmas!
(Since it’s Christmas season right now, it’s Christmas movie time. For the first time my wife and I recently showed our kids a classic from our childhood, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, which helped give me the idea for this post.)
Both of my parents grew
up in New York City, and when I was a kid we’d go into the city to visit
family. Every now and then we’d branch off from family and take a trip into
Manhattan to go do some sight-seeing.
On one particular trip
into NYC, it wasn’t long after I first saw the second Home Alone movie. For
those of you that haven’t seen it, it’s about a 10-year-old kid that somehow
ends up flying to New York City by himself around Christmastime. While he
enjoys being a tourist at first, it doesn’t take long before things start
unraveling for him and he really wants to get back to his family.
As we walked around
NYC, the Plaza Hotel, the famous hotel featured in the movie, was on our list
of things to check out. Central Park is nearby, along with Rockefeller Center,
Radio City Music Hall, and a bunch of other famous sites.
We walked into the
hotel and it was really cool, because it looked almost exactly like scenes out
of the movie. (It’s funny how movies make places look bigger and brighter,
though.)
My amateur photography
Kevin in Home Alone 2
Just off the Plaza Hotel’s main lobby
I thought it was pretty
cool being there at a place where they filmed a movie I enjoyed. Everyone else in
the lobby was doing normal hotel stuff. There was a long line of people waiting
to check in, and as near as I could tell, none of them were even thinking about
the movie. I decided I’d snap a picture to remember this by. I walked over to a
spot where I could capture the check-in desk, raised my camera, and took a
picture.
The Check-in Desk at the Plaza Hotel in the early 1990s
I didn’t really
anticipate it as a kid, but now I understand why the hotel would want to make
its guests feel like their privacy was protected. Right after the flash went
off, a very large, well-dressed man strode across the lobby toward us, walked
around us, and stood directly behind me. He didn’t say a word, nor did he act
in a rude manner, but it was perfectly obvious my behavior was not welcome. We
took the hint and moved along.
Although it’s sort of a
strange tie-in, Christians can be a lot like that guy from the lobby. People
who know they’re not living right are uncomfortable when they’re around people
that are. If you’re a Christian it’s not necessarily your job to make people
feel uncomfortable, but sometimes God uses you as a reminder to others in a way
that pricks their conscience.
We’re coming up on the time of year where we spend time with loved ones that we may not see that often. That’s easy for some, not so easy for others. If you have a difficult time at Christmas because you’re around people you love, but don’t always get along with due to religious/lifestyle differences, just keep loving on them. Like the guy in the hotel, you don’t need to be rude or belligerent, you just need to be there. Don’t for a second feel bad for living the way God wants you to. God could be chipping away at their heart, and using you as a way of making them uncomfortable with the way they live when they know they’re not living the right way.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. –John 13:35
When I was a kid I used
to love watching cartoons. I don’t know what happened since then, but I guess
somewhere along the line they decided they were going to stop making good
cartoons.
One of my favorite
cartoons to watch was “Duck Tales.” It featured Scrooge McDuck (of “Christmas
Carol” fame), the three young duckling triplets Huey, Dewey, and Louie, and the
lovable (but terrible) pilot, Launchpad McQuack.
Scrooge McDuck was a
greedy guy, there’s no doubt about it. Part of the draw for a younger me was
that he was always mounting expeditions to go in search of lost treasures. Off
to faraway jungles, canyons, deserts, mountains, the ocean floor…no matter the
danger, Scrooge McDuck’s greed drove him to adventure.
One such adventure
involved catching a leprechaun. The main characters caught a leprechaun and
demanded that he show them to the massive underground treasure caverns (because
a pot o’ gold at the end of the rainbow just ain’t enough sometimes). The
leprechaun showed them to the hidden entrance, which was under a young tree. I
don’t remember why they couldn’t go exploring down the tunnel right then and
there, but for some reason they had to temporarily abandon their quest. Knowing
that it would be extremely difficult to identify this one tree in the middle of
the forest, McDuck took out a handkerchief and tied it to one of the branches
of the tree. After binding the leprechaun by making him promise not to mess
with the hanky or the tree, the adventurers departed.
I think it was the next day when the treasure hunters returned. The hanky and the tree were indeed untouched, but now the forest was littered with hundreds of white hankies. The leprechaun had kept his promise, but still managed to obscure the value of the makeshift marker.
Let’s switch gears for
a minute. Take the perspective of Satan and the other fallen angels. You’ve had
definite limits imposed on you, but you’re free to meddle with humanity in
other ways. How can you divert people from the true way to God and eternal
life, which is a relationship with Jesus Christ? You can’t touch that one true
hanky, but you can sure hang up a lot of other ones that look enough like the
original to make the real one hard to spot.
Aside from
Christianity, there are a handful of major world religions on the scene, but
there are an untold number of minor ones, splinter groups, minor sects, and
other less popular religions. All of them are fake hankies.
In addition to using other
religions, the adversary attempts to muddy the waters for actual Bible-based
events. The focus of Christmas and Easter used to be Jesus’ birth and Jesus’
triumph over sin, respectively. Now it’s Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny. Being
a Santa fan doesn’t make you a bad person, but consider this: this Christmas,
are you and yours giving at least as much emphasis on the story of Jesus’ birth
as you are to Santa?
There’s a lot of
distraction out there, but remember the true reason for the season and the fact
that the adversary has to ask permission to launch certain attacks on
Christ-followers.
“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission
to sift you like wheat…” Luke 22:31
8Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you
considered My servant Job? For there is no one on earth like him, a man who is
blameless and upright, who fears God and shuns evil.”
9Satan answered the LORD, “Does Job fear God
for nothing? 10Have You not
placed a hedge on every side around him and his household and all that he owns?
You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in
the land. 11But stretch out
Your hand and strike all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your
face.”
12“Very well,” said the LORD to Satan.
“Everything he has is in your hands, but you must not lay a hand on the man
himself.”
Then Satan went out from the
presence of the LORD. Job 1:8-12
My wife is a wonderful woman. Not only does she take care of our kiddos and I, she also pours into the lives of many of the women she knows.
At any given time she
has at least one friend that’s going through heartbreaking circumstances or
challenges, and she tries to help them in various ways. One weekday at church
she was the lead for her class’s Bible study, which was a source of stress for
her in terms of preparation and delivering the material. Though the class
itself went well, another woman she knew sought her out afterward, and it
resulted in a conversation that required a lot of mental energy and focus. It
wasn’t a bad encounter, but it added to the stress of a particularly draining
day. By the time she left church with our preschool-aged daughter, she just
wanted to get home and do something that didn’t require any thought or energy,
but she knew our little girl would want to read some books or play pretend with
some of her toys.
Mentally exhausted and physically worn out, she arrived home to see that I had come home early for a dental appointment, and was just about to leave. Instead of driving right from work to the dentist, I came home first because I wanted to change clothes so I could run an errand after the dentist. My daughter got excited and wanted to go with me because the last time she went with me to the dentist, one of the assistants had allowed her to pick a toy out of the little treasure chest, just for tagging along. Well, that sounded good to everyone, so my little sidekick and I drove off.
My wife came inside to
a quiet house and collapsed on the couch. Before long she thought of something
she needed to do online. She picked up our laptop and went to turn it on, but
the battery was dead. Taking this as a sign, she put it back down and closed
her eyes for just a few moments. She ended up getting a half hour of
much-needed quiet…an opportunity that would not have happened if our daughter
stayed home and if the laptop’s battery had any life in it.
People often forget
this, but the God of the
big things is God of the little things, too. Foreseeing this need, God
laid the groundwork for that day. There were at least three separate things
that needed to happen in order for these conditions to exist for my wife. I
don’t remember what errand I intended to run after the dentist, but God worked
it out that instead of going right from work to the dentist, I first came home
to change clothes. In addition to that, I don’t know how long before that day
my daughter came with me to the dentist, but somehow God set up the
circumstances for that previous visit so that I was home and took my little
girl with me and she got a toy, conditioning her to want to go again the next
time. Similarly, however we used the laptop the day before (or the morning of)
the Bible study resulted in a dead battery by the time my wife arrived home.
It’s as if God says “if you follow me and work for me, you’re
going to have hard times, but I’m going to take care of you.” Never forget that God is sovereign; there is
nothing He can’t control. When you’re living in His will, He goes before you
and “plows the road” ahead of you to get you where He wants you to be. On the
flip side, if you’re not living in His will, there will probably be times when
it seems like there hasn’t been one particularly difficult challenge, but you
feel like you’re expending a lot of energy just to accomplish something minor.
So, especially during
this busy season, remember: the God of the big things is God of the little
things, too.
(Programming note: In observance of the Thanksgiving
holiday, I’m switching up this week’s posting schedule. Next week will be back
to Thursday.)
When my kids were very
young, like a lot of kids, they were pretty self-centered. This wasn’t a
surprise; when any child’s world is still very small, they naturally think of
themselves as the center of the universe.
My wife and I found a
way to start breaking them out of that thought process. Every night at bedtime,
we started doing what we call “Thankful Hearts.” We’d each say a few things for
which we were thankful. My wife and I started out with some examples. We might
say something like “I’m thankful we had enough food to eat today, I’m thankful you
didn’t get hurt worse when you fell down today, and I’m thankful our house is
keeping us warm and dry while it’s rainy and cold outside.”
It took a little
adjustment for them, but over time our kids began focusing less on their “I wants”
and more on their “I already haves.” This roundabout way of counting their
blessings helped our kids understand that it’s a special thing to have enough
when others don’t. That type of security allows people to turn their focus
outward; instead of our kids’ prayer requests sounding like a Christmas list
for items they wanted for themselves, they soon began bringing their requests
to God on behalf of the needs of others.
In a world where every
commercial or advertisement you watch, read, or hear tries to convince you that
what you already have is inadequate, it’s easy to become dissatisfied. That’s
the goal of advertising. It’s also easy to get caught in the whole “keep up
with the Joneses” mentality. Don’t forget though, especially as we head into
Christmas season, to be thankful for the areas of your life where you already
have “enough,” especially if you’re assured of your salvation through the
sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Thankfulness of that eternal assurance allows you to
be confident and enables you to turn your focus outward and share the good news
with those who, in that sense, aren’t as blessed as you are.
I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and rejoice in you; I
will sing the praises of your name, O Most High. Psalm 9:1-2
The November after I
graduated college, I took an adventure trip to Australia. One of the parts of
the trip I was most excited about was the trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. I
had never been scuba diving before, and the Great Barrier Reef was like, legendary
from everything I’d heard. During this portion of the trip we all got on a boat
that took us miles from shore, and we stayed out there for two overnights.
The crew operating the
dive tour took us to several different locations known to be good diving spots.
Once they securely anchored the boat at a given dive site, we waited for a
designated time window before we could go in the water. Safety observers needed
to be in position, and we needed to receive a dive brief where we learned about
the features of the area, where to avoid, can’t-miss sites, and what depth
limits we should not break. During this leg of my Australian trip, I had the
opportunity to do about a dozen trips into the water, either snorkeling or
scuba diving.
For those of us that
were not scuba certified on this trip, we could pay a bit extra on some of the
outings and a staff member would teach us enough to get by, and would be our
dive buddy and personal guide during that particular dive. I wasn’t going to
come all the way to Australia and NOT go scuba diving on the Great Barrier
Reef. Since it wasn’t cheap though, I got a good mix of scuba dives and regular
snorkeling.
The reef was an amazing
thing to see, especially the amount and variety of life that lived there. The
reef itself sounded like it was fizzing and popping. When snorkeling, I would
hold my breath and dive down to get a closer look at some of the gorgeous
sites. While snorkeling, there was so much to see, even if you only dove down a
few feet. I started diving down more than a few feet, though. Equipped with flippers,
I was able to swim deep a little easier than normal. The more you do it, the
more your body gets used to it. A few times I dove down deep enough to be on
the same level as some of the divers.
On our last day at sea,
our last dive was coming up, and I was going to spend this dive snorkeling. We
all got into the water and started going our separate ways. I was kind of
swimming around aimlessly when I noticed a very large concrete block down on
the sea floor. It was one of the weights our boat anchored to. It was pretty
far down there. I decided I was going to try to get all the way down to it.
The first time I tried,
I started swimming straight down just to see how far I could comfortably go. I
wore a wetsuit that provided some buoyancy, and lungs full of air also helped
keep me afloat. The deeper I went though, the more the water pressure
compressed everything, so the buoyancy of my lungs and suit had less effect. I
gave it a half-hearted shot, but got nowhere near my goal before I turned
around and swam back to the surface.
I recovered on the
surface for awhile, but wanted to try again. I took a few quick, deep breaths,
and then surged straight down again. I kicked hard, driving deeper. I got much
closer to the block on the floor, but started getting concerned about not
having enough air to make it back, so again I turned around early and headed
up. Coming up from the depths has the opposite effect of going deep; your
buoyancy increases as you get closer to the surface. As I got shallower, I
could feel myself rising through the water more quickly, even if I slowed my
kicking.
I spent some more time
resting and letting my breathing return to normal before making another shot
without holding anything back. I did the quick breathing thing again and dove
hard with the most air I could possibly fit into my lungs. Again, I swam hard
straight down, pushing back more firmly against the nerves and survival
instinct the deeper I went. The block on the ocean floor became larger and
larger, and as I drew nearer I became more determined to reach it. It was
almost within my reach!
Finally, after a swim
straight down and what seemed like forever, I reached the block on the ocean
floor. With a major sense of accomplishment, I flipped over and placed my feet
on the block. I took a moment to look down at my feet on the concrete, then to
look around at this place I had fought so hard to get to.
Then I looked up. If we
could go back and see what I looked like, we’d probably see the color drain
from my face. On a free dive, being the deepest you’ve ever been also means
that you are physically the furthest away from oxygen that you’ve ever been.
Never, either before or since, have I seen such a large aquatic distance that I
had to cover so quickly. I became so focused on reaching my goal that I lost
sight of the fact that the trip to the block was only half of the swim.
I shot off the block
and began kicking furiously. I wasn’t far off the block before my lungs started
burning. I kicked as hard as I could, and tried a few strokes with my arms, but
that almost felt like it slowed me down. Have you ever held your breath so long
that your diaphragm starts going into convulsions? It’s your body’s natural
reflex, as though it’s trying to force you to take a breath. More than halfway
up, my diaphragm started convulsing. It’s one thing if you’re sitting on the
couch seeing how long you can hold your breath, but it’s different when the
muscle controlling your lungs starts having spasms underwater, and I got
worried that I wasn’t going to make the surface without inhaling a lungful of
seawater.
As I tried to keep my
body from betraying me, I noticed that I was rushing through the water. The air
in my lungs and wetsuit had expanded enough that it was again making me
buoyant, and my buoyancy was increasing as I moved toward the surface. The
water at this point was rushing past my face, and I could feel its flow
anywhere my skin was exposed to the water. Compared to being at depth, my lungs
were now so full they felt like they were about to explode, yet the air within
them was all but used up.
I needed air so badly
that I didn’t even want to waste time exhaling after breaking the surface. With
nothing left to spare, I blew out halfway just before breaking the surface and
took the most grateful gasp of fresh air I’ve ever taken in my life. Looking
back at my notes from the trip, I estimated at the time that the concrete block
on the ocean floor was about 10-12 meters, or about 35 feet, below the surface.
My muscles were spent
from the furious swim and the lack of oxygen, and I floated there panting as my
wetsuit kept me from sinking. After resting awhile, I was able to swim back to
the boat and make it safely aboard.
Have you ever thought about how, when you feel you’re
doing everything you possibly can, and it’s still not enough, the Holy Spirit
can cover the gap? The way the wetsuit
worked is sort of the same way the Holy Spirit does; it’s there, wrapped around
you and pushing you toward where you need to go. I’ve met amazing people that
have endured unbelievable hardships that have drained them of any strength they
held in reserve. When you ask them how they got through it, their answer
usually has something to do God’s grace. It might be “peace that passes
understanding.” Hearing their story and knowing that they withstood things that
would make the average person buckle or tap out reminds me that the Holy Spirit
empowers Christ-followers with the things they need for the task at hand, even
if that task is nothing more ordinary than to make it through the day.
This isn’t just for
people with extraordinary stories, like Samson or King David; it’s for you and
I, too. When we’re in the midst of excruciating trials or facing an
insurmountable obstacle, God gives us what we need to “make it back to the
surface.” Then, when it’s all over and we’re completely spent, He’s there
keeping us afloat while we catch our breath, sustaining us long enough for us
to make it back to safety.
“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses.
For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself
makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who
searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes
intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” Romans 8:26-27
“And when they had prayed, the place where they were
assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit,
and they spoke the word of God with boldness.”Acts 4:31
When Americans think of
Australia, one of the things they think about is the wildlife. Some of the
things that might come to mind are kangaroos, crocodiles, koala bears, etc. The
tour company I traveled with recognized that, so one of the things they built
into the itinerary of our Australian trip was a stop at a zoo that had a lot of
these animals.
I’ve been to some zoos here in the states. Things are usually set up so that you can’t get too close, but you usually have an unobstructed view of whatever animal is present. Not this place. It was kind of a cross between a petting zoo and a crocodile kennel. You could hand-feed the kangaroos (maybe they were wallabies), handle snakes, and get close to the emu.
I think the main
attraction was probably the crocodiles. The owner was a colorful character.
Think of him as an older version of Crocodile Dundee that put on a bit of
weight and wasn’t quite so light on his feet anymore. He was fun to be around
and took us on a tour of the sights.
I’d guess that this guy
had anywhere from six to 12 crocodiles in various chain-link pens throughout
the zoo. He brought us around to the various pens, sometimes teaching us about
crocs from outside the pen, other times going inside and feeding the crocs a
chicken or two.
I was a little
surprised by this guy’s willingness to go right into the various pens, and even
more surprised at how close he was willing to get to the various animals. He
would be within a few feet of the gaping jaws of these enormous monsters, and
he’d toss meat into their mouths. He was actually missing a few fingers because
he had gotten too close in the past and eager crocs had snapped down quicker
than expected.
He seemed so laid back
about being in such close proximity to reptiles that could kill him. The only
thing he kept nearby was a rake. He used it to scratch the back of some of the
crocs to help them relax, but he kept it with him for another purpose. When a
croc is getting a little too aggressive and you need to move him back, you can
flip the rake around and push on a sensitive spot on their head, and it will
back up. We got to see this first-hand when one of the crocs started coming out
of its pen. Farmer Dundee here flipped the rake around and pushed the croc back
far enough to close the door.
One of the things that
struck me the most about this guy was how confident he was in knowing when it
was safe and when it was not safe to approach one of the beasts. Again, he was
so casual about being in extreme close proximity to crocs that I didn’t know
what to think. He actually sat on one of them when he was tired and wanted to
take a break.
This guy’s behavior is
an example of how we can become so comfortable around danger that we let our
guard down and get careless. By the time I met him, this guy had been around
crocs for years, but for all I know, he could have been attacked and killed by
one of them the next week. You can go for years flirting with danger or
something you shouldn’t be around and everything turns out fine; until it doesn’t.
You won’t always see it coming, either. That’s why it’s best to simply avoid
such situations if at all possible. A few examples might help. If you’re a
recovering alcoholic, don’t go meet friends at a bar. Avoid situations where
you’re alone with that attractive co-worker. Each of us is more susceptible to
certain mistakes than others, but we’re better than we might think when it
comes to predicting where things can go south. Let’s assume you’ve got a good
head on your shoulders; just because you’re not looking at a guy sitting on a
crocodile doesn’t mean you can’t recognize a situation that’s a bad idea.
I don’t blame my
crocodile farmer friend for doing what he does, but he has to constantly be on high
alert for trouble. Even though he’s had a lot of successful crocodile feedings,
he’s still missing some fingers. The lesson here: if you’re perfectly aware of the danger but you
intentionally stay near it anyway, don’t expect to come out of it unscathed.
Are there any
unnecessary risks in your life you need to stop accepting?
