Josh. 2:11 - "When we heard it, our hearts melted and no courage remained..." In the text above, Rahab is confessing to the two spies sent into Jericho by Joshua exactly how they felt upon hearing the news that the Israelites were coming. She informs them that their hearts melted and no courage remained in any of them.
Maybe you walked into a doctor’s office and while sitting there the doctor informed you that you had a disease or a loved one you had accompanied into his/her office had a disease and upon hearing the news your heart melted within you. Maybe you received a visit from a police officer and informed you, a loved one died in an accident and your heart melted within and all your courage departed. Or maybe it was the time one of your children was lost at the amusement park and for over an hour you know your heart stopped.
We were talking after the ceremony and he asked if he could come and talk to me. I agreed and he came in the next week and shared with me what was going on in his life. David told me that his doctor informed him he had a very aggressive type of cancer and that he didn’t have long to live. Then he went on with his story. He came home and told his wife what the doctor said. Within days he came home and found a note from his wife that she was leaving him. He said he checked their bedroom closet and all her clothes were gone. He said, “My heart sank.” In Rahab’s day they said, “Hearts melted.” The meaning is the same and that is: what you are about to experience is going to be extremely painful. WOW! What a punch in the gut and a knee to the face. You talk about your heart melting and all courage departing from within you.
The same thing Rahab did and that is he put his faith in the God of Heaven and Earth. Here is what Rahab said, “…for the Lord your God, He is God in heaven above and on earth beneath.” She confessed that the Israelites' God was the true God. David confessed Jesus to be his Lord and Savior and I baptized him into Christ. When you get knocked off your feet, and you are laying flat on your back, you are in the perfect position to look up and see where your help will come. Your help will come from the One who created the "heavens and earth." David’s wife never came back and he lost his battle with cancer but I never met a more courageous man. I truly met one of God’s Special Warriors.
What we have to do is follow in the footsteps of Rahab and David and that is put your faith in God. Here is what the Hebrew writer says about Rahab, “By faith Rahab the harlot did not perish along with those who were disobedient, after she had welcomed the spies in peace.” By Faith in Jesus Christ you and I will not perish with those who are non-believers.
The trouble with some people is that during trying times, they stop trying. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word
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Judges 16:28-30 - Then Samson called to the LORD and said, "O Lord GOD, please remember me and please strengthen me just this time, O God, that I may at once be avenged of the Philistines for my two eyes." 29 Samson grasped the two middle pillars on which the house rested, and braced himself against them, the one with his right hand and the other with his left. 30 And Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he bent with all his might so that the house fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead whom he killed at his death were more than those whom he killed in his life. NASU
You have to want to do it more than anything else in the world. I have never met Rob or talked with him but I am sure that he wanted to play in the NFL again. He wanted this more than anything else. Therefore, he endured all the physical and mental pain that came with his rehabilitation of his torn ACL and MCL. Rob did play again in the NFL. He won the Super Bowl Championship with New England and Tampa Bay teams.
Then you need to know this: "Everyone loves a comeback story." This is what they make movies about because people love to watch stories that inspire. Comeback stories inspire others to try and overcome whatever obstacle they are facing.
He had squandered the best years of his life by being rebellious. He had a bad temper, was vengeful, and had a mean streak in him. He loved to show off and display his great feats of strength. He had a little problem with pride. Samson's association with Delilah will bring him an extreme amount of pain and I am sure a lot of second guessing. Has your association with someone brought you an extreme amount of pain? Samson lost his youth, his hair, his strength, his eyes, his job, his pride and God's Spirit will depart from him. That sounds like a lot to lose in one life time but Samson managed to accomplish this. We can learn a lesson from this situation like Samson and move forward.
Maybe you can relate to Samson. You have squandered your youth, your health, your finances, your reputation and your relationship with God. Then there is only one thing for you to do. Make A Comeback! Samson prays to God and asks Him to remember him and give him the strength that he needs to make a comeback. This is great advice for all of us. We need to pray to God and ask Him to strengthen us to make the "Comeback" that we need to make right now. God answered Samson's prayer. God will answer yours. Think About These: Pride hides a man's faults to himself, and magnifies them to everyone else. It's not the body's posture, but the heart's attitude, that counts when we pray. A little pride is a small thing to lose when compared with losing honor. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word 1 Thes. 5:11, 14 - Therefore encourage one another and build up one another, just as you also are doing...We urge you, brethren, admonish the unruly, encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with everyone. NASU
(If you're interested in going to Thessaloniki, Greece I am hosting a trip there. It is Journeys of Paul in Greece and will take place April 11-21, 2024 simply email me and I will send you a brochure with all the info you need.) "Encourage one another and encourage the fainthearted," Paul says. There isn't a person alive who doesn't benefit from encouragement.
After the exchange of greetings between the coaches and a few questions back and forth, Mike said that Coach Shula leaned in and whispered words he would never forget. Coach Shula said, "Listen, Mike. I need you in training camp in July, on the field and ready to go. We're going all the way this year." Coach Westhoff recovered from his bone cancer and was on the field at the training camp ready to go. The encouragement that Coach Shula gave him was all the encouragement he needed. Mike would further say, "Coach Shula treated me the way I could be, not the way I was."
Proverbs 12:18 - "… But the tongue of the wise brings healing. NASU We all like to believe we possess some wisdom. According to this Proverb a wise person uses his tongue to bring healing. One of the best ways to help someone heal is to bless them with some words of encouragement. I am sure you know someone today that needs to hear some encouraging words from you. Think About These: A pat on the back, though only a few vertebrae removed from a kick in the pants, is miles ahead in results. The best thing to do behind a person's back is to pat it. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Gen. 32:24-28 - So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob's hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. Then the man said, "Let me go, for it is daybreak."
But Jacob replied, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." The man asked him, "What is your name?" "Jacob," he answered. Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with men and have overcome." NIV
There won't be any of your teammates coming to your rescue, nor would you want them to interfere. This is between you and your opponent. Jacob wrestled through the night until daybreak, alone.
Who is this man that Jacob is wrestling? I have my thoughts about Him and will allow you to have yours, but I can tell you this much He was powerful enough to dislocate Jacob's hip with a touch. In the 1972 Olympics, Dan Gable, was head butted. His trainer wrapped his head to temporarily stop the bleeding. He continues to wrestle, wins the match and then received seven stitches to close the gash. In the 1998 Freestyle Wrestling Championships, Cary Kolat, dislocated his shoulder during one of his early matches. He continued to wrestle and won a bronze medal. There are hundreds of wrestling stories like these. When you get hurt you keep on going.
Jacob was wrestling with God. Notice what the verse says, Then the man said, "Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God…" He was struggling or wrestling with God.
The apostle Paul informs Christians that we likewise are wrestlers and he even names our enemies that we will be wrestling against in this life. One passage of scripture we never want to forget is 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 - "…but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." NASU Think About These: When God measures a man, He puts the tape around his heart not his head. Who is more foolish: a child who is afraid of the dark or a man who is afraid of the light? Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word Philemon Vss. 10-11 - I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my imprisonment, 11 who formerly was useless to you, but now is useful both to you and to me. NASU
In speaking with Dan years ago I asked him about that one loss and he said, "It was the best thing that had happened to him. I refocused after that loss and trained harder than ever before." In 1971 he will become the Pan-American Champion and the World Champion at 68 kg. In 1972 Dan would become the Olympic Champion at the same weight and he wouldn't even be scored upon.
Paul says to Philemon that Onesimus who was once useless to you is now useful. He has a blemish on his resume but that doesn't mean he is useless.
Do we need to change our thinking? There are way too many people who have become the victim of "stinking thinking". That is when we think negative about our life and what we are going through. We start thinking "Everyone else always gets all the breaks and we never get anything to go our way". One of the first things we were taught in a counseling class I took was to be on the look out for when you hear people who are complaining using the words "always and never". The first thing you want to do is challenge them on the "Always and Never" statements. They have had something go there way in life. So this negates the "never". They are just not seeing them now. They have allowed themselves for some reason to fall into the "poor me-isms". When things don't go our way the best thing we can do is refocus. Investigate why things didn't go our way. What little adjustments do we need to make to become the victor? Identify it, correct it and move on up the ladder. We all have had blemishes on our resumes but that isn't any reason to trash the resume (your life) and not even try for what it is you desire. Listen to what the Apostle Paul says to Philemon about Onesimus, "but now (he) is useful both to you and to me." It is your time to be useful now. Do we need to submit our resume or help someone submit their resume for a better life? Think About These: The right angle to approach a difficult problem is the "try-angle". Giving it another try is better than an alibi. Stay Pumped, Gary A. Serago Minister of God's Word |
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