Daily Courage

      Each of us faces the problems and difficult circumstances that life throws at us in different ways. We cry, fight back, ignore, become angry and maybe bitter, and sometimes we even try to run away from the challenges that we face. There are many problems which seem so huge, so irresolvable, we cannot, dare not tackle them by ourselves. We realize that we need help. So, we turn to others, our family and friends; but even then, we may come to an understanding that we need help from outside ourselves, outside our circle of family and friends, and even outside of our world. We then hold out our empty hands toward the source of strength from outside our reality, to the one who said, “Come to me, all of you who are struggling hard, and carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

      I believe Jesus was not only referring to spiritual struggles and spiritual rest, but to the daily struggles we all face. Then we find in 1Peter 5:7, the Apostle Peter exalting the power of God to take care of us using these words, “…throw all your anxieties onto him, because he cares about you.”

      I recently experienced courage in the face of impossibility as I made the rounds to visit those with various needs. There was the man who spoke confidently from his rehab facility bed, unable to get up, “I am not alone.” The ninety-seven year old lady who sat on the edge of her bed in the nursing home and said with a sad, but strong voice, “My son just passed away.” And then, there was the man who looked at me as I stood beside his hospital bed and said defiantly, “I have lung cancer.” From each of these people courage and hope radiated, courage bigger than the problem.

      In the 1920’s a man named Mallory tried three times to conquer Mt. Everest. On the third try, in spite of careful planning and extensive safety precautions, an avalanche hit the climbing party. Mallory and most of his expedition were killed.

      Back in England at the memorial service, the leader of the surviving men stood before the crowd to give a final word. With his back to the crowd, and facing a huge picture of Mt. Everest that hung almost menacingly over the banquet table, the man spoke these words, “ Mt. Everest, you defeated us once; you defeated us twice; and even the third time. But, we will one day defeat you, because you cannot get any bigger, and we will.”

      Our struggles may seem bigger than us, but they can never be bigger than the one who daily walks with us. It is God who falls into step beside us, who lifts the burden as we lift, and gives us the courage to face the darkness of each night and the beginning of each day. Our problems can never be bigger than our God.

Rev Tim McConnell Long’s Chapel UMC July 22, 2012