Written by Bridge Church Elder Bill Erickson
Some years ago, God directed our hearts to move from the house we had lived in for twenty years to the one in which we now live. We were not unhappy in our former house. In fact, we were very content there. We remodeled it a couple of times and expected to retire there. It was a very comfortable house. But, due to family circumstances, it was clear that God was pushing us to move. The place to which He brought us is rather isolated on a dead-end street with the river behind us. A month after we moved our backyard was underwater. Nice! Our new neighbor told us not to worry – “It does this almost every year!” he said. Thanks for that encouragement. The former owners, who built the place, reassured us, as well, that the house has never flooded. And, it hasn’t. Only the yard, and not every year. I reminded myself that God knew about the river when He brought us here. You see, it’s His river. The course it follows is also His.
Do you ever think that the time and place in which you are living is by accident? The luck of the draw? Coincidence? Being at the right place at the right time? No, it is all orchestrated by our Heavenly Father – especially if you are follower of Christ.
From the Apostle Paul’s sermon on Mars Hill, in Acts 17, we learn a valuable lesson we need to be reminded of.
“From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.” (v.26)
Psalm 139:16 says, “You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.”
Worried about the times we live in? Covid? Stop. “Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” asks Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. He continues, “…don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries.”
What are we to do then? The writer of Hebrews tells us we have a race to run. Chapter 12, verse 1, he tells us to “strip off every weight that slows us down, and the sin which so easily trips us up, and run with endurance the race that is set before us.” Who determines and sets the course? God does. Who determines the times in which we live? God does. Who laid out every day of our life before a single day had passed? God did. All we do is run the race with endurance the course He set before us. Remember it’s His course, not ours. Notice that it isn’t a speed race, rather a race of endurance. You have your race and I have mine.
How do we run with endurance? We strip off every weight that slows us down, verse 1 continues. We all have baggage: you have yours, I have mine. It must be laid aside. We need to train well to run the race. When I was in the military we had a saying, that the more you sweat in peace, the less you’ll bleed in war. We trained hard to endure. We must discipline ourselves to lay aside the baggage that slows us down, especially the sins that easily trip us up. Verse 2 tells us we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, because of the joy set before Him, He endured His race – to the cross. We are to keep our focus on Him and to remember what He endured so that we won’t become weary and give up.
Maltbie Davenport Babcock was a Presbyterian minister during the latter half of the 19th century. He was the writer of the familiar hymn, This Is My Father’s World. He also wrote the poem below which sums up my message to you.
Be strong!
Be strong!
We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;
We have hard work to do and loads to lift;
Shun not the struggle, face it, ’tis God’s gift.
Be strong!
Say not the days are evil — who’s to blame?
And fold the hands and acquiesce — O shame!
Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God’s Name.
Be strong!
It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong,
How hard the battle goes, the day, how long;
Faint not, fight on! Tomorrow comes the song!
Bill Erickson