Enough Already!

Enough Already!

“All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; 

He’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; 

He’ll always be there to help you come through it.

                                                    I Corinthians 10:13 MSG

This week’s list of stories is getting so long that I need to get this devotion typed and sent out before I read one more example of people who went beyond their difficult circumstances to accomplish much with their lives. Consider this week’s list:

• Today it was a boxer who broke both hands in World War I, was told he would never box again, but refused to give up and went on to win the heavyweight championship of the world.
  

• Wednesday lesson was from the life of Glen Cunningham, a young man who almost lost his life when he was so severely burned that he was told he would never walk again. Despite that, he went on to set record after record in the one-mile run, achieved world class status as a runner, and was elected to the Track and Field Hall of Fame.
  
• In getting ready for a Washington, D.C. trip meeting, I noted our annual stop at the FDR Memorial and was reminded that the former president, who led our nation through The Great Depression and World War II, battled the paralysis that resulted from polio for much of his life and his entire presidency. It is more than a play on words to say that he refused to let his disability cripple his dreams and aspirations.
  
• The book I’m reading contained another similar story. “I beg of you to keep the matter of my deafness a profound secret to be confided to nobody, no matter whom …..” was written by none other than the famous composer Ludwig van Beethoven who, when speaking of his increasing deafness, wrote to a friend on the subject, “I am resolved to rise above every obstacle.”

Enough already! The message that our problems are not our real problems rings loud and clear. The message that our adversities, our unique circumstances, the problems and challenges we face in life are not excuses that give us the right to give up and languish in self pity has been received and acknowledged. The examples above are the smallest of samplings of life testimonies that we are more than capable, and equipped by God, to rise above every challenge we face and accomplish God’s wonderful purposes for our lives.

God Bless,

Pastor Joe

Gateway Church