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Scripture for the day: Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Thought for the day: I wonder if you remember the “Road Runner” cartoons where Wile E. Coyote chases the Road Runner and inevitably ends up in a tight situation? I’m not sure why, but they were some of my favorites. Maybe it was his tenacity that inspired me. He had his sights set on having that scrawny little bird for lunch and no amount of failure would deter him in his quest. The Coyote would chase the bird, failing every time. He would explode, have a rock fall on him, have an ACME device malfunction or fall off the edge of a cliff, and much worse. Now, every once in a while, as the Coyote fell, he would grab hold of a twig sticking out of the side of the cliff – but we all know what happened next. He hung there for a short time, and then of course, the twig snapped and he fell, hitting the ground in a big puff of dust. Why, he was so unlucky, he couldn’t even get the cartoon named after him! It was called “Roadrunner.” (talk about injustice!)
Here’s the point though; it didn’t matter how strong the Coyote’s grip was;it didn’t matter how determined the Coyote was; it didn’t even matter how good his ACME equipment was, when the twig broke, the Coyote fell - Poof.
Many of us have a Christian walk like Wile E. Coyote. We buy the best available equipment for our walk of faith: A study bible, solid Christian books, maybe a bible computer program – we attend service, take notes, even go to a mid-week study of some kind. In fact, there are times where we seem to have caught on….and then we fall off the cliff. Poof, big cloud of dust.
For you see, the key to a great faith is not how strong we are, but how strong the object of our faith is. If faith holds on to a breakable twig, then no matter how strong the grip is, that faith will fall, just like Wile E. Coyote. Fortunately, we have something to hold onto that is strong, in fact stronger than anything we could build ourselves up to, in fact stronger than anything that can come against us – the person of Jesus Christ.
In the Old Testament we’re given another good example of the importance attached to where we put our trust. Isaiah warned the people (who didn’t listen, by the way), particularly king Hezekiah, not to put their trust for rescue in the armies of Egypt. They were being assaulted on all sides by the armies of Assyria, and not doing well. Many of the fortified cities and towns had already been taken, the Israelites were being driven back on every side and the king finally appealed to the king of Egypt to come to his aid. Isaiah pleaded with the king not to put his trust in those foreign armies, and in that he agreed with the commander of the Assyrians (but for different reasons of course). Finally, Hezekiah is convinced and puts his whole trust in the God of Israel. The Assyrians are defeated and destruction is averted in Jerusalem. The point is, of course, it’s not enough to know where not to put our trust; it’s equally important to know the right place to put it.
All of us fall off a cliff from time to time. Every one of us faces an overwhelming challenge at some point in our lives. And we will each need something to grab onto at some time to avoid ending up at the bottom of the cliff in a great cloud of dust – poof! When that time comes, let’s try to remember that it’s not what we put our trust in – it’s who.
Now go take on your world. - Bill