Many cultures of our planet have traditionally been attracted to the moon. That big, yellow, shiny blob in the sky that at times is in the form of a French croissant (no wonder the French like the moon!), and at times takes the shape of a soccer ball, has always fascinated young and old.

Can you imagine what it must have been like to actually walk on the moon?

At 6:31 P.M., January 27, 1967 disaster hit Apollo 1 Command module. It had been designed to perform a 10 days orbit around the earth and if successful, the next stage would have been planned: a trip to the moon! That fateful afternoon, as astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee were going through a countdown dress rehearsal, a fire ignited near Grissom's feet. Because the space module was filled 100% with oxygen instead of the typical earth's atmosphere of 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen, the fire quickly spread with ferocious hunger. As the astronauts desperately tried to open the hatch, the temperatures inside the capsule quickly ascended to 2500 degrees Fahrenheit. Before anything could be done, Apollo 1 was a blazing ball of fire. There was no time for rescue attempts. The three astronauts died within seconds.

How easy it would have been for NASA, after this tragedy, to give up that dream of placing men on the moon. Why risk other astronauts' lives? Why spend unearthly hours for a project destined for failure? Why worry about something that was not meant to be? Was it really worth it?

They didn't give up. In fact, the opposite took place! They took the time they needed to locate the problems in that module and to rectify them. They installed a hatch that would open in 15 seconds; they removed all flammable substances from the capsule, and they adjusted the oxygen/nitrogen air mix. Ten months later, the unmanned Apollo 4 was a success. Eleven months after that the Apollo 7 crew successfully completed Apollo 1's mission. On Christmas Eve of that same year of 1968, Apollo 8 orbited the moon, and on July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong actually set foot on the moon!

If simple men can reach the moon, you can most certainly reach the stars with God's help! Giving up is an easy way out, but is it really worth it? As long as you are lined up with God's will, you will be unstoppable. Yes, opposition will arise and calamities will be caused, especially if you are joining God at work, but the Creator is above all of our circumstances!

"With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." (Mark 10:27 NIV)

To tell you the truth, every one of our Answers2Prayer volunteers experienced terrible opposition from the evil one as soon as they join this ministry. The devil's biggest weapon? Discouragement! "Hit them where they are the weakest and they will fall apart!" is his strategy.

He tried this on Jesus Himself, 2000 years ago, using one of his closest disciples: "From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 'Never, Lord!' He said. 'This shall never happen to you!' Jesus turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.'" (Matt 16:21-23 NIV)

Those who gave up quickly never were able to fathom the wonders that God would have performed through them. They could have reached the stars, driven by God Himself!

"So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit." (Gal 6:9 The Message)

"He will never give up on you. Never forget that." (1 Cor 1:9 The Message)

"Giving up" is music to the ears of the enemy! However we are serving One who is bigger and more powerful than all the possible obstacles that could face us!

"So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can't see now will last forever." (2 Cor 4:16-18 The Message)

May we learn from the prophet Micah and stand firm, watching attentively where God invites us to join Him in His work and reach out to those who have no hope!

"But me, I'm not giving up. I'm sticking around to see what God will do. I'm waiting for God to make things right. I'm counting on God to listen to me." (Mic 7:7 The Message

Giving up? I will make sure that it's the evil one who will give up and not me! Only through Jesus can I succeed! "Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him." (Matt 4:11 NIV)

Men can reach the moon, but we can reach the stars! Jesus is our fuel!

Rob Chaffart