GOD OF HOPE

Daily Stop & Thinks

Stop & Think: March 12, 2022

Plans

Don’t plan it all. Let life surprise you a little. (Julia Alvarez, novelist and essayist)

Having a plan is usually a good thing as we move forward in work or study. Strict adherence to a detailed strategy, however, may cause us to miss the joy and excitement of occasional spontaneity. Interrupting a crowded, detailed schedule can provide a moment for rest and reflection as well as a change-of-pace that may be really good for our morale and well-being.

We can make our plans, but the Lord determines our steps. (Proverbs 16:9)

Stop & Think: March 11, 2022

Pain

The gem cannot be polished without friction, nor man perfected without trials. (Chinese proverb)

Pain is a mixed blessing for all of us. Without pain we wouldn’t know that our hand is too close to a hot stove. We wouldn’t recognize that our body is telling us that something is wrong and needs to be looked at. And then there’s the painful admonition from a friend, pointing out a hurtful word we’ve spoken or an injury we’ve caused. Either kind of pain is a cause for change.

The words of the wise are like cattle prods—painful but helpful (Ecclesiastes 12:11).  

Stop & Think: March 10, 2022

Setbacks

Not failure, but low aim is the crime. In great attempts, it is glorious even to fail. (Bruce Lee, late martial artist)

No one wants to fail. Our plan is to succeed, to complete the task well. But, as almost everyone has discovered, things don’t always go as planned. Sometimes our project fails. A failure to reach the mountain summit may be discouraging, but it also may have been well worth the effort if the experience brought emotional growth and success.

Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22) 

 

Stop & Think: March 9, 2022

Speaking Well

If you can’t say nuffin’ nice, don’t say nuffin’ at all. (Cartoon character Thumper)

Seems like a pretty good piece of advice from a cartoon character, doesn’t it? Some of us can probably remember our mothers saying something like that to us when we were bad-mouthing a friend. It seems like a lot of people have forgotten that good advice today. How much better it would be if we could remember this good counsel.

Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. (Colossians 4:6)

Stop & Think: March 8, 2022

Sacrifice

Surrender is a series of choices, not a one-off event. (Craig Groeschel, leadership speaker)

Groeschel continues: “A God-honoring life isn’t based on a few big decisions but on thousands upon thousands of smaller, daily ones.” Or, as Pastor Chris Suitt put it, “Real life change starts with one step and then the next. Please take this journey – for your sake and the world’s.”  Those steps often require giving up some personal right or pleasure for the benefit of others.

Jesus: “If you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.” (Mark 8:35). So, we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. (1 John 3:16)

Stop & Think: March 7, 2022

Others

What do we live for, if not to make life less difficult for each other? (George Eliot, pen name for Mary Ann Evans, 19th-century English novelist)

Eliot’s thought is certainly challenging. One of the noblest activities of a person with character is to be an encouragement to others. It’s a worthy purpose and goal for all of us. Thinking of others more than of yourself is a healthy ambition. To do so is to fulfill one of the biblical challenges that truly honors God and benefits society.

Those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed. (Proverbs 11:25) We should help others do what is right and build them up in the Lord. (Romans 15:2)

Stop & Think: March 6, 2022

Sharing

Hurt is reduced by being shared; joy is increased by being shared. (Phillips & Brown, worldview authors)

It is difficult for most children to learn how to share. “That’s mine!” is often the cry when another child wants the toy. Too many adults have not yet learned the value of sharing; on the contrary, hoarding seems to be a widespread problem these days. But as Phillips and Brown suggest, there is great value in learning to share. Good friends experience it with great benefit.

Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. (1 Timothy 6:18)

Stop & Think: March 5, 2022

Your Best

Whatever you are, try to be a good one. (William Makepeace Thackeray, 19th-century British novelist)

Do you remember this childhood poem? “Rub-A-Dub-Dub, Three men in a tub. And who do you think they be? The butcher, the baker, the candlestick-maker…”  Whatever your occupation—and it’s probably not one of those—the important thing is not what you do, but how well you do it. So, always strive to do your best!

I want you to do whatever will help you serve the Lord best, with as few distractions as possible. (1 Corinthians 7:35)

Stop & Think: March 4, 2022

A Way Out

The best way out is always through. (Robert Frost, 18th-19th century American poet)

How do you respond when you come against an obstacle in your work or planning? Many of us find the easy way is to avoid the problem, run away from it, work our way around it—just try to avoid it altogether. Frost’s advice is probably the most helpful approach to difficulties. Face them head-on and find ways to work through them. That will bring a great sense of satisfaction.

When you are tempted, [God] will show you a way out so that you can endure. (1 Corinthians 10:13)

Stop & Think: March 3, 2022

Perseverance #2

The Promised Land always lies on the other side of a wilderness. (Havelock Ellis, 19th-20th century English social reformer)

Bible readers will recognize the allusion to Israel’s journey from enslavement in Egypt to God’s “Promised Land” for them. Indeed, they suffered through 40 years of wanderings in the wilderness because of their disobedience and lack of faith. It’s a good lesson for us to learn. The Good Life may come only after trials and difficulties, usually of our own making. Persevere!

Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness. (1 Timothy 6:11)

Stop & Think: March 2, 2022

Perseverance

The human mind always makes progress, but it is progress in spirals. (Madame de Staël, 18th-19th century French political theorist)

Whether it’s writing a paper or creating a new tool, we want our progress to be a straight line upward to success. In real life, however, it rarely works that way. The essay or thesis requires a lot of research, often leading to dead ends and starting over. Looking back on a completed project, we’ll see there were many turns on the way, and we’re glad we stuck with it.

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:4)

 

Stop & Think: March 1, 2022

Success

There is only one success . . . to be able to spend your life in your own way. (Christopher Morley, 20th-century American journalist)

The American mantra seems to be “I did it my way.” It might be good to ask if “my way” is always the best way. My way may bring a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment, but what are its ultimate consequences personally and socially? Surely, we’ve grown past the childish “me first” attitude. Jesus had a better idea for living a significant life.

Whoever wants to become prominent among you shall be your servant, and whoever desires to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve. (Matthew 20:26-28)