Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows.
I believe that somewhere in the darkest night, a candle glows.
I believe for everyone who goes astray,
Someone will come to show the way.
I believe. I believe.” (Graham, Shirl, Drake & Stillman)
The morning sunshine is coming an hour later today now that Daylight Savings Time has turned our clocks ahead an hour, and so as I sit here I can see only darkness outside my upstairs windows. Experience tells me that I can believe that the morning light is about to break over the horizon.
How about you…do you believe it?
I didn’t see a lot of that “belief” happening the other day, as I carried out some errands around town which Lynda had asked me to do. As I drove around and wandered through stores and the mall, it became eerily apparent to me that I saw fewer smiles and heard less laughter among those I walked by or met on that journey than I had remembered from times in the recent past.
It was a bit like sitting in the darkness this morning.
Perhaps it was because the folks I saw were having a hard time believing that things would get better with the economy anytime soon. Many of them were without work. Soon-to-be college graduates who had worked so hard to graduate, like the young lady I spoke with, realized that the jobs that used to be there for new graduates were no longer readily available.
Folks once settling in for retirement are now having to scale back the vision they had for the way that looked, or in some cases are postponing the date while they try to earn some of what was lost in their retirement accounts. Others are trying to figure out how they will pay for college for their children—which is just around the corner. While still others wondered where the money would come from for the family’s next meal.
We’re in the midst of a time where we may find it hard to believe that the sunshine really will come up over the horizon. We’re in the midst of a time where hope—the feeling that what is desired will actually happen—is on the wane.
I don’t know what you’re going through. Maybe it’s some of the same things those folks I saw the other day are going through. Maybe that feeling of hope you have had in the past is beginning to wane a bit today and for all your tomorrows.
If that’s the case in your life, think about this with me for a moment. In the midst of all of all storms we’re going through, it has never been clearer that whether or not we believe in something is not really what’s important, but what we believe in is of paramount importance. Do we believe in the things that are subject to the winds and whims of whatever is going on around us, or do we believe in something more long-lasting? Do we believe in the things of the world, or the things of a more eternal nature? Does our hope reside in the wild swings of the stock market or whether we’ll get the next promotion, or start a successful business, or does it reside in something constant and never-changing?
Does our hope reside in the Hope of the One Who has control of eternity, or does it reside in something else? Does our hope believe that through all that is going on in the world around us, God has not left us, God still reigns, and God still knows us, cares for us and hears our every word? Or is our hope in something or someone else?
The rest of the song written by the hopeful hearts of those four songwriters goes like this…
“I believe above the storm the smallest prayer will still be heard.
I believe that someone in the great somewhere hears every word.
Every time I hear a newborn baby cry, or touch a leaf or see the sky,
Then I know why I believe!”
What do you believe in? Where do you put your hope?
Believe in the God Who created you and cares for you. Put your hope in the God Who is always there, has never left you and never will.
Believe that the morning sunshine really will come over the horizon—today, tomorrow and for all eternity.
Why? Because with Him—it will!
In His Name—Scott
“Economic Times” – It’s my observation that these uncertain times has served us in a way that has perhaps been over looked. In my line of work I speak a great deal and hear numbers of others speak and it’s the mantra of “success minded folks” to highlight the great opportunity that times like these offer. That is certainly an important and relevant perspective – however, it’s not one to become lost in…
I am a firm believer of the power of positive thinking and faithful stewardship of our minds but too many books (and ministries, quite frankly) focus on the prosperity mentality and forget about the deeper issues. Too many churches are too busy building buildings or heading large concorprigations – (a word of my own invention to describe church leaders who have decided to run a corporation at the cost of the congregation, many times) Good luck to day in many churches to get an appointment with the Sr Pastor, or should I say CEO?
What am I saying in all this? Here’s is what I have seen this economy do… It has brought to the surface the heart of the matter. The very message you so eloquently shared with us above. How many people, especially us men – have been living that quiet life of desperation? Prosperity has masked it or at best postponed it’s side effects. When that security blanket of success is ripped away, when all the sand has been blown away and there is no where to burry your head, when it’s every where and there’s no where to hide… One must face it! That can be very scary, indeed.
What a great opportunity to reach out and be transparent ourselves in order to really make a difference that might not have been possible if it weren’t for time such as these. I have been looking for such mentorship my entire life and was forced to come to the conclusion that such help for me just didn’t exist. I think I remember someone else said the very thing my Grandfather used to say to me; “Mike, if you can’t find who or what you need, become it.” It’s hard becoming something in a vacuum and there are many times it does seem I will never reach what burns inside of me!
Mr. Whitaker, I appreciate your ministry. I attended the last function at Idlewild with Coach Dungy and was deeply touched! I wish it didn’t go by so fast. Thanks for being obedient to God’s obvious calling for you – it is a very critical service us men need today. I know I do! I hope there a more like you who will see the real opportunity that is before us today.
What I would love to see come over that horizon are real men of God who know who we are again. Men who are courageous and powerful yet posses compassion and meekness. Men who are not afraid of political correctness or what the special interest groups might think. Men who are the leaders of their homes and no longer allow society to emasculate us. Men who are the heros to their wives and children; men that will fight the system for them. Men who can not be bought or sold. And men who will not sell our birthright for security! Strong men of the living God who will be WARRIORS again!!
I so want to be a man like that and desperately seek examples. They are so hard to find, and if you think you have, many times they have no time to mentor. I teach my people all the time that the mind does not think in words… I can lecture you for hundreds of hours and you will get some of it – or I can show you what it looks like in real life and now you can copy me. We think in pictures; If I tell you then it’s up to you to imagine your own picture of what it looks like (that’s called trial and error) – if I show you now you have a full color, living example and anyone who wants to can copy that!
A man seeking real men…
M.A.A.
I love my brother!