Encouragement – Page 2 – Pathway Journey

March 13, 2024March 13, 2024

Stable Stool in a Wobbly World

I know you have eaten in a diner where the table was wobbly because one leg was a little short (and you probably put a wad of a napkin under it.) Do you know that a three-legged stool will never wobble? A carpenter puts a diagonal brace in a structure because he transforms a rectangular object into two triangles thus stabilizing the structure.

When rock climbing or climbing a ladder, the safest way is to always have three points of contact—move only one foot or hand at a time.

You see where I am going with this, right? Something of “threes” brings stability. A three-legged stool never wobbles.

“Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken” (Ecclesiastes 4:12 NKJV).

In the wobbly world we live in, let’s look at the three legs of stability. In a stable society, we need three points of contact to stay secure. We need faith, family, and community.

February 28, 2024March 6, 2024

Spoiled Brats

Jeremiah asked God why the wicked prospered while the good folks suffered. It is an age-old question that God has been asked perhaps zillion of times. God answers Jeremiah beginning with this statement:

“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, Then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, In which you trusted, they wearied you, Then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?” (Jeremiah 12:5 NKJV).

If you are lost in the imagery and the history of God’s answer, let me simplify it for you. Basically, if you have struggled in good times, how will you fare when it really gets tough.

If you freak out when you forget to get your favorite coffee K-cups, how will you cope if there is no coffee?

There are many people in the United States who are suffering through terrible difficulties. I have friends right now who are going through their own hell. This post is not about those with legitimate difficulties. Bear with me, while I make the comfortable, uncomfortable.

February 6, 2024February 5, 2024

My Dentist Said I Was Stoic!

Crazy title, right?

After a lengthy dental procedure where my dentist did a root canal, then ground it down for the crown prep, plus filled the neighbor tooth, and ground it down for a crown; he patted me on the shoulder and said, “You’re stoic.” I forgot how long I was in the dental chair, but it was a while. When finished my dentist said it was hard on him and he was amazed that I didn’t move a muscle or make a sound. Perhaps I was afraid to move! Anyway, I was surprised by his comment, thinking maybe it was intended as a compliment.

January 4, 2024January 4, 2024

Problems and Such on Social Media

Back in my younger days when I taught high school vocational agriculture (now it is agriscience), we had district ag-teacher meetings about four times a year. I usually left more deflated than encouraged. Talking with my high school ag-teacher and mentor, Mr. Jim Turner, I told him how I felt about the meetings. He laughed and said, “Harry, some of those guys who are bragging about all the things they are doing, are probably not doing half of what you are doing. Just keep your head to the grindstone and don’t let it bother you.” It was great advice, comparison between good or bad is not healthy in either direction.

Today we have social media. Most postings on social media usually fall under one of two categories: how great someone’s life is or the severity of their problems. I am not saying either should not be posted, that is a personal preference and perhaps another discussion for another day.

November 29, 2023November 28, 2023

ILLUSION OF PERFECTION

Perfection is like a dog chasing his tail. He may never catch it and if he did it would hurt. Perfection is that thing we sometimes pursue but never reach.

After almost seven decades on this ball of dirt, many things in my life can be described as in the words of an old Scottish man, “Well, that’a do!” I have come to realize some skills I have tried to perfect ended up with the grade of “B” or a “C”. I’ll just need to live with “that’a do.”

Some things look perfect at a distance. We could name celebrities who looked as if they had it all, but then we were shocked when their lives dissolved into ruin.

November 1, 2023November 1, 2023

Struggling with Surrender

All of us who try to live for Jesus, struggle with surrender at moments in our lives. Surrender to God is not a ‘one time and done’ but a life-long journey. There are times we easily surrender and then we grapple with surrender. I would think that those who do not struggle with surrender to God have already made a dwelling on the other side, in the land of rebellion. If you are struggling, congratulations! At least you are trying.

I think I am a simple man. I like to simplify rather than complicate an issue. In the process, I may at times oversimplify something. I really do not like to quibble over words, but rather concentrate on concepts to live by. So here is my take on struggling with surrender.

I think when people fail to surrender to God, there is one of two main problems at fault. One is outright rebellion where one has the attitude of, “God is not going to tell me what to do.” The other is a lack of faith or trust in God. I would prefer to err with the last one than rebellion which puts a person on the same lane as the devil.

October 26, 2023October 26, 2023

Have You Considered My Servant?

There are two interesting conversations in the Bible between God and Satan in the beginning chapters of the Book of Job. The scene was apparently in the spiritual realm where the “sons of God” (most likely angels) came before God. Satan, a rebellious castaway angel, appeared in the same gathering. God begins the conversation with Satan about Job, “Then the LORD said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8 NKJV)?

I am not going to tell the whole story about Job’s trials, temptations, and then his eventual two-fold restoration. Today, I am more interested in God’s all-knowing perspective about Job.

Satan did not begin the conversation about Job. God asked a straightforward question to Satan, knowing Satan’s evil heart as his very name “Satan” means adversary. God was basically boasting about Job, saying, “there is none like him on the earth.”

October 19, 2023October 19, 2023

Parched Piece of Ground

I hear people talking about leaving a legacy and I understand their sentiment, but often it has a scent of narcissism. After all, legacy is an earthly reminder of a person’s achievements while the crowns in Heaven are thrown down at the throne of God. My simple mind tells me to just be faithful in the Kingdom of God and leave the accounting to God’s record.

In 2 Samuel 24 and 1 Chronicles 21, the Bible tells a sin in King David’s life. He sinned by numbering Israel out of a bad motive. Instead of trusting God, he trusted the strong arm of flesh. He wanted to feel secure in the number of warriors he had at his disposal. Joab, the leader of the army, was sent throughout the land to take a census of his fighting men.

October 4, 2023October 3, 2023

Barking…

Being perfect is not something I have ever professed to be. I try to be quite honest with myself about my weaknesses, yet often we can be blind to our own stuff. Every day when I read the Bible, I take notice of the rebukes of scripture as it relates to my fleshly notions. When I pray and spend quiet times with God, I try to listen to the still, small voice of Holy Spirit warning me and convicting me. My desire is to be right with God and in cordial relationships with other people.

I do not believe I am a particularly difficult person, nor do I enjoy confrontation as some people tend to do. I usually take a fair amount of gruff before I bark back, but occasionally, I feel shoved over the line, and I bark. “Woof!”

September 26, 2023September 29, 2023

Grasshopper Mentality

When Moses sent twelve spies to scout out the land of promise, only two, Caleb and Joshua, brought back a good report. The other ten were fearful of the inhabitants. This is what the fearful spies said, “There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight” (Num. 13:33 NKJV).

The evil report of the fearful spies resulted in their own immediate death by a plague. A judgment against the older generation of those twenty years old and above would prevent them from entering the land and result in their death in the desert wilderness over a forty-year period of time. The whole nation’s entry into the promised land would be delayed forty years.

Remember the identity problem the ten fearful spies had? “We were like grasshoppers in our own sight.” What causes people to have a grasshopper mentality? These spies were looking at their own shortcomings, inabilities, and weakness; while not believing in the strength, greatness, and power of God.