1 Cor 15:58 "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you.
Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your
labor in the Lord is not in vain." NIV
Driving back late to L'Anse-aux-Meadows from the Labrador-Newfoundland ferry, we
discovered that we were NOT the only creatures using the highway. In fact, it
seemed that this was a favorite "trail" for numerous sorts of
wildlife-porcupines, possums, racoons, to name just a few! We successfully
avoided running any of them over; however one species in particular proved to be
harder to avoid than the others: The moose. And of course, it is ESPECIALLY
advisable to NOT hit one of these, for though the moose usually loses his life
in the adventure, he goes down fighting. Much to the detriment of car!
About halfway from the ferry landing, we met our first moose. Actually, she was
pretty hard to miss, standing proudly in the middle of the road, head held high,
defying us to come any closer. If you have never seen a full-grown moose, then
imagine an oversized army tank made out of concrete. Yikes!
With the moose possessing the road in this manner, it was obvious we had a
choice to make:
a. We could play "chicken". We could push the gas pedal to the floor and barrel
straight toward the moose, hoping she would move out of the way;
b. We could slow down and try to bypass her without hitting her. To accomplish
this on such a narrow road, however, would require driving in the ditch;
c. We could stop the car and wait for her to decide to move out of our way, ever
hoping that any other unfortunate vehicle on the road would see us before it was
too late; or
d. We could turn around and go the other way, abandoning our tent trailer at
L'Anse-aux-Meadows and sleeping in the car instead.
We decided on option number three, and it proved to be the best choice. We only
waited five minutes before she decided that the bushes looked inviting and left
the road. Ouf! We had successfully avoided a disaster! Thank you Lord!
Fifteen minutes later, we met our next moose-a huge bull. Since choice number
three had worked for us the first time, we decided to try it again, and once
again, after just a few moments, the bull-moose moved off the road. He, however,
didn't disappear into the bushes. Instead, he stood on the side of the road and
watched us, as if defying us to try to cross into "his" part of the road! We
crept forward, inching towards that massive head of colossal antlers, until we
were just in front of him. Then, as if he couldn't stand the fact that we were
ignoring his warning, he started moving down the side of the road, just fast
enough to stay abreast of the van.
My wife, who was driving, wisely pushed down on the gas pedal, but as we sped
up, the bull broke into a run. Was it racing us or was it trying to chase us?
Either way, we had no idea just how fast a moose could run! Fortunately our van
was still the fastest, and in a few moments, that bull-moose was far behind. He
didn't give up the race yet, though. Although we'd obviously won fair and
square, he continued barrelling down the side of the road after us.
Fortunately, we were no longer in any kind of danger. Once again, we had avoided
a disaster by making the appropriate choice. Thank you Lord!
Every time we are faced with trials, we have choices to make. Even though every
kind of trial is different, they all have something in common: they all act to
discourage us from attaining our goal! When facing trials we also have four
possible choices:
a. We can barrel into them, depending on our own power alone, hoping they will
move away;
b. We can slow down and creep onward, hoping to avoid having to face the problem
(e.g.: switching churches in the face of church conflict);
c. We can stop on our tracks and wait on the Lord for direction; or
d. We can turn around and try to avoid the problem completely by ignoring it
(strange but this seems never to work!).
It is sad to see that so many believers stop any ministry activity when facing
trials. Some go so far as to stop going to church, some even stop communicating
with the One who has the solution to their problems.
By going through the trial without God as your partner, you miss a tremendous
blessing and disaster strikes head on. By avoiding the trial altogether, you
just postpone the inevitable. If not deftly dealt with, these trials just
reappear. When we stop any involvement in God's ministry, though it SEEMS to
cover up the problem, it often makes the trials bigger, not smaller. Only when
you allow God to be your partner can you successfully deal with the tempests of
life.
The Bible constantly encourages to stand firm and rely on God for guidance. Why
are we so hard-headed in following this advice? Is it possible that we like
feeling sorry for ourselves?
The only solution is found in God's Word. Let us take to heart its advice:
James 5:8 "You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord's coming is
near." NIV
1 Peter 5:8-9 "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around
like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in
the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are
undergoing the same kind of sufferings." NIV
Look out! Bull-moose ahead! What choice will YOU make?
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.