A young girl, unaccustomed to traveling, was taking a train ride through the country, and it happened that in the course of the day her train was obliged to cross two branches of a river and several wide streams. The water seen in advance always awakened doubts and fears in the child. She did not understand how it could safely be crossed. As they drew near the river, however, a bridge appeared, and furnished a way over. Two or three times the experience was repeated, and finally the child leaned back with a long breath of relief and confidence.
Worry
One day John Wesley was walking with a troubled man who expressed his doubt as to the goodness of God. He said, “I do not know what I shall do with all this worry and trouble.”
At the same moment Wesley saw a cow looking over a stone wall. “Do you know,” asked Wesley, “why that cow is looking over the wall?”
“No,” said the man who was worried.
Wesley said, “The cow is looking over the wall because she cannot see through it. That is what you must do with your wall of trouble—look over it and avoid it.”
A recently licensed pilot was flying his private plane in a cloudy day. He was not very experienced in instrument landing. When the control tower was to bring him in, he began to get panicky. Then a stern voice came over the radio, “You just obey instructions, we’ll take care of the obstructions.”
Source: 365 Devotions, Standard Publishing
“I compare the troubles which we have to undergo in the course of the year to a great bundle of sticks, far too large for us to lift. But God does not require us to carry the whole at once. He mercifully unties the bundle, and gives us first one stick, which we are to carry today,and then another, which we are to carry tomorrow, and so on.
Once a man told D. L. Moody that he was worried because he did not feel saved. Moody asked, “Was Noah safe in the ark?”
“Certainly he was,” the man replied.
“Well, what made him safe—his feeling or the ark?”
“How foolish I’ve been!” the man said. “It is not my feeling; it is Christ who saves!”
Source: The Speaker's Quote Book, Roy B. Zuck
Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College
There was a fellow who was about to jump from a bridge. An alert police officer slowly and methodically moved toward him, talking with him all the time. When the officer got within inches of the man he said, “Surely nothing could be bad enough for you to take your life. Tell me about it. Talk to me.” The would-be jumper told how his wife had left him, how his business had gone bankrupt, and how his friends had deserted him. Everything in life had lost meaning. For thirty minutes he told the sad story—then they both jumped.
Ralph was head over heels in trouble, but doing little to help himself. A friend advised, “Ralph, you’ve got two hands, why don’t you do something?”
“I am,” Ralph replied, “I’m wringing both of them.”
Source: Unknown
Submitted by the homiletics class of West Coast Baptist College
A very nervous airline passenger began pacing the terminal when bad weather delayed his flight. During his walk, he came across a life insurance machine. It offered $100,000 in the event of an untimely death aboard his flight. The policy was just three dollars.
He looked out the window at the threatening clouds and thought of his family at home. For that price it was foolish not to buy, so he took out the coverage. He then looked for a place to eat. Airports now carry a good variety of eateries so he settled on his favorite, Chinese.
Duke University did a study on “peace of mind.” Factors found to contribute greatly to emotional and mental stability are:
1. The absence of suspicion and resentment. Nursing a grudge was a major factor in unhappiness.
2. Not living in the past. An unwholesome preoccupation with old mistakes and failures leads to depression.
3. Not wasting time and energy fighting conditions you cannot change. Cooperate with life, instead of trying to run away from it.
Illustration Topics
James Cash Penney (who started J. C. Penney stores) made some unwise commitments and became very depressed. He worried so much that he developed shingles. He went to see his doctor who admitted him to the hospital, but his condition became worse. One night he was prescribed a sedative that quickly wore off, and he awoke believing that he would die that night. He wrote letters to his family and fell asleep.
Illustration Topics
In her autobiography, My Life, former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir tells the story of her devout Jewish grandfather who lived in Russia. He was required to serve in the Russian army for sixteen years. During that time he tried to keep every Jewish law and custom even though it meant that he faced intense persecution—even being forced to kneel on a stone floor for hours.
“We'll have all eternity to celebrate our victories, but only one short hour before sunset to win them.”—Robert Moffat
“If a man's business requires so much of his time that he cannot attend the services of his church, then that man has more business than God intended him to have.”—J. C. Penney
“There is more joy in Jesus in 24 hours than there is in the world in 365 days. I have tried them both.”—R. A. Torrey
“Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.”—Dale Carnegie