The Word For Today

After David killed Goliath, four other men, including his nephew Jonathan, killed giants who rose up against the Israelites. 'In still another battle...there was a huge man with six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot... When he taunted Israel, Jonathan son of Shimeah, David's brother, killed him' (2 Samuel 21:20-21 NIV). David had raised the bar. Witnessing the defeat of what others had deemed impossible gave them the strength to overcome their own giants.

Until 1954, no one had run a mile in under four minutes - most assumed it was virtually impossible. But on 6th May 1954, at an Oxford University track meet, Roger Bannister completed the distance in 3 minutes and 59.4 seconds. He had slain the giant. Two months later, Australian John Landy broke Bannister's record, proving that the four-minute mile was as much a psychological as a physical barrier. In the first half of the twentieth century, many attempted to climb Mount Everest and failed. It was the unconquerable giant for mountain climbers. On 29th May 1953, Edmund Hillary and his Sherpa guide Tenzing Norgay were the first to reach the summit. Since then, over a thousand climbers, ranging from age sixteen to sixty, have completed the expedition. David, Bannister and Hillary all conquered giants of their day and inspired others to match and excel in their feats.

You do yourself and others a disservice when you run from your giant. You need to stop being afraid to tackle hard tasks and remind yourself, 'If God did it before, he can do it again, and if he did it for others, he can do it for me.'

In 1985 Tim Burke saw his boyhood dream come true when the Montreal Expos baseball team took him on as a pitcher. After four years in the minor leagues, he was given a chance to play in the big leagues. And he quickly proved his worth by setting a record for the most relief appearances by any rookie pitcher.

Along the way, Tim and his wife Christine adopted four children who needed additional support - two daughters from South Korea, a son from Guatemala and another son from Vietnam. All the children were born with very serious illnesses or physical defects, and neither Tim nor Christine was prepared for the tremendous demands such a family would bring. And with the gruelling schedule of major-league baseball demands, Tim was seldom around to help. After searching his soul and deciding on his life's true priorities, Tim did something that amazed everyone - he gave up his dream career in major league baseball. When reporters asked him to explain this unbelievable decision, he simply said, 'Baseball is going to do just fine without me. But I'm the only father my children have.'

Heroes are in short supply these days. And Tim Burke is one of them. Dad, you can be another one. You will never regret a moment of the love, time and effort you invest in your children. So, be a father. (And if you don't have children, pray for fathers you know.)

The Bible likens the Christian life to a marathon. The writer of the book of Hebrews said: 'Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured' (Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV). Paul wrote to the Philippian believers: 'There is one thing I always do. Forgetting the past and straining towards what is ahead, I keep trying to reach the goal and get the prize for which God called me' (Philippians 3:13-14 NCV).

Chances are you aren't at the starting line, nor are you at the finishing tape. You're somewhere in the middle. When running a race, the start is always filled with such enthusiasm and energy. And the finish holds such promise as we run the final stretch and reach our goal. But the middle of the race - when we are long past the start and not sure how far away the finish might be - is what often tests us. That's why the prophet Habakkuk wrote: 'O Lord, revive your work in the midst of the years' (Habakkuk 3:2 NKJV)! It's in 'the midst' or the middle of the race that we need encouragement, that we need our second wind and that we need to refocus on the prize that awaits us.

Those who have run before us have passed the baton through the centuries, from generation to generation - without dropping it. What are you to do? Take the baton, run and keep running!

God is the giver of dreams. 'For God does speak...in a dream, in a vision...when deep sleep falls on people' (Job 33:14-15 NIV). If you want the rest of your life to be fulfilled and inspired, take your dream out the closet and blow the dust off.

It's easy to get caught up in the 'have tos' of life - working; caring for children, spouses and ageing parents; taking care of homes, etc. But you must believe that you can resurrect your life and your dreams and believe you have the ability to tap into the enthusiasm you once felt for life. You must have the courage to face the disappointments of the past, take a good look at how you got off the path and see where you are headed. Then you have to silence the voice in your head that says: 'This is all there is. Who are you to want more from life? You can't do it; it's too late for you.' We give up on our dreams because we think that's what grown-ups are supposed to do. But as we mature, we realise that reaching for our dreams is what makes us feel alive.

The truth is that with love, prayer and great attention, your dream, like Lazarus, can be resurrected (see John 11:43). The secret of recapturing dreams is to enjoy the pursuit of the dream rather than focus on the outcome. Achievement in this case is not about position, fame or financial compensation, but about doing what you love. That's what Jesus promised: 'I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full' (John 10:10 NIV).

Marcial Losada is an organisational psychologist who studies the power of positivity. He argues that we need a negative feedback loop to survive. Without midcourse corrections, we mindlessly make the same mistakes. But if we want to thrive, we also need a positive feedback loop. His studies have produced what is known as the Losada ratio: it's the ratio of positive feedback to negative feedback in a system. It doesn't matter whether that system is a church, family or workplace, there need to be at least 2.9 positive feedbacks for every one negative.

So, what's your ratio as a spouse, a parent, a worker, a friend? Part of the reason for the disparity is that negative feedback tends to carry more weight and last longer, so it has to be counterbalanced. A pretty good rule of thumb is this: dish out three compliments for every complaint. Instead of looking for faults, train yourself to catch people doing things right.

And here are a few more things you can do to stay positive. (1) Memorise and meditate on the promises of God's word and anchor yourself to them. (2) Keep a gratitude journal. It will let you know how blessed and how well-off you are. (3) Cultivate the habit of sending a heartfelt note to people you appreciate. It'll only take you two minutes, but you can make someone's day, or even someone's year! (4) Find a way to share 'wins' with your family and in your workplace. It has the power to shift the focus and shift the culture. It'll also anchor you to the people in your life in a powerful new way.

Fanny Crosby, the noted hymn writer, said she never attempted to write a hymn without first kneeling in prayer. Given that she wrote about 8,000 songs, she was obviously a woman of prayer! Beloved hymns such as 'Blessed Assurance', 'To God Be The Glory', and 'I Am Thine, O Lord' were born from times of prayer.

Like many creative people, Fanny was often under pressure to meet deadlines. One time she tried to write lyrics for a tune composed by W.H. Doane. She couldn't seem to find the words, but then she remembered she had forgotten to pray. As she rose from her knees, she dictated - as fast as her assistant could write - the words for the famous hymn, 'Jesus, Keep Me Near the Cross'. Another time she had run short of money and needed exactly five dollars for a particular purpose. There was no time to call upon her publishers, so she simply prayed for the money. As she ended her prayer, she began to pace back and forth in her room, trying to get into the mood to write. Just at that time, an admirer called upon her. The two chatted briefly, and in parting, the woman pressed something into her hand. It was a five-dollar bill! Fanny fell to her knees in a prayer of thanksgiving, and, upon rising, she wrote one of her most famous hymns, 'All the Way My Saviour Leads Me'.

The secret of Fanny Crosby's success is not a 'secret'. Before she attempted anything for God, she first sought God's help. So, the word for today is - pray about it!