eFax of Life from CBMC Heartland
Feel Life a Failure?
Let's play a game. I'll tell you facts about a man - and you tell me who he is.
He was born into poverty. His father was an illiterate, wandering laborer, his mother a frail sickly woman. They were forced out of their home when he was only seven. His poor mother died when he was nine. He had virtually no formal schooling.
His first attempt at a career in business failed miserably. A year later he ran for state legislature unsuccessfully. That same year he lost his job and applied to law school but was laughed out of consideration because of his miserable qualifications. Not long after that humiliating ordeal, he started another business using money he borrowed from a close friend. Before the year closed, however, that business faded and failed, our man claimed bankruptcy and spent the next seventeen years paying off debt.
He fell deeply in love with a young lady, only to have his heart broken when she died soon after their engagement. The following year he had a complete nervous breakdown and spent the next six months in bed recovering.
Three years later he sought to become speaker of the state legislature and was defeated.
Two years later, he sought to become the elector of the state and was defeated.
Three years later he ran for Congress and lost.
Three years later he ran for Congress and won. Only two years later he ran for re-election and was soundly defeated.
A year later he sought the job of land officer in his home state but was rejected.
Six years later he ran for the Senate of the United States. Again, he lost.
Two years later he sought the Vice Presidential nomination at his party's national convention. He got less than one hundred votes, suffering yet another embarrassing defeat.
Two years later he ran for the U.S. Senate and lost again.
WHO IS THIS MAN?
(Hint: two years later he was elected sixteenth and probably greatest President of the United States.)
Had some failures in your life? Not super-excited about the prospects for this coming year? Future looking ho-hum?
You and I both can take some encouragement and direction from Abraham Lincoln.
Prayer was essential for Lincoln:
"I have been driven many times upon knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom, and that of all about me, seemed insufficient for that day."
Scripture study was vital for Lincoln:
"All the good from the Saviour of the world is communicated through this Book; but for the Book we could not know right from wrong. All the things desirable to man are contained in it."
If this great man - facing such great pressures (Did you know more Americans were killed during the Civil War - than all the rest of our wars combined?) would rely upon Almighty God - doesn't it make sense that you and I can rely upon Him - in the midst of our challenges?
I propose an experiment: Each day - for the next month let us read a chapter from the Book of Proverbs (about mid-way through your Bible). On the 4th day of the month, we would read the 4th chapter - and so on. Proverbs has 31 chapters - so it works out o.k. Begin with this prayer:
"God, please show me what these words mean - and how they would apply to my life today. Amen."
If you start mid-month - that's fine. Just roll into the new month and continue reading until you've read through the entire 31 chapters of Proverbs. And then - please let me know via e-mail, fax, or letter - what you discovered.
No matter how much failure, disappointment, and pain we've had in our past - this is a new beginning.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your way acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6
CBMC Heartland, 01/02/03
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