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Topic: Inner Strength (04/20/06)
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TITLE: Oh Give Me a Home, Where the Chickens Do Roam... | Previous Challenge Entry
By Scott Mohr
04/27/06 -
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Most of the structures on our property looked to be at least a hundred years old, so I thought as I started out one early Saturday morning, “This will be no problem at all.” For heaven's sake I'm a weightlifter and former gymnast- I'm sure I can push that shack right over, then use the pile for firewood!” I walked over to the old shack, gave it a smirk and pushed....and pushed...and pushed- only to find out that the former avian abode was more than a match for my feeling-much-wimpier-than-before frame. The coop hardly budged. I also quickly learned that apishly barreling headlong into the side of the old structure was even less effective than pushing. (Ladies- hot tip: men in their late 30s don't enjoy being rebuffed by a pile of old wood that should have fallen easily. Ergo, standing up at the house laughing hysterically does not help)
I realized I was in for a long hot day. I began to pull the chicken coop apart board-by-board, and found out the source of my reproving. It turns out that the old coop had six supporting pillars, each one of which was firmly planted in the ground by at least a foot and a half. Whoever built that structure meant for it to weather winds, rain and exposure for as long as possible!
It reminds me of how beneficial it is to immerse our psyche- our heart, mind and will deeply into God's Word and presence every day. King David, a man who knew God personally said “I wait quietly before God, for my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken.” (Psalm 62:1-2 NIV) David understood that his inner strength came not through self-confidence or wishful thinking, it came from God.
Just like that old shack, we might appear weak, weathered and frail on the outside (at least those of us that are post-40), but there is a strength and a resolve that comes from years of regular grounding in the Word of the Lord, and waiting on Him. God gives us a centeredness that can't be obtained through temporal or metaphysical realizations, but only in God's eternal truth. God's truth which transcends my ideas of right and wrong, justice and injustice, truth and falsehood. What do we think about injustice? Let us base our opinions in God's Word. What do we think about family, fellowship, and sexuality? Let's throw off every sin-tainted imagination and speculation, and anchor our understanding of truth to what the God has to say to us. If we want to be immovable, we will let God through His Word impart His master plan for our lives in us. Then we'll be like the wise builder whose architect is God. That way when the Devil begins his assault, he'll meet with the same steadfast resistance I did on that hot summer day those years ago.
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I like the title, and the "hot tip" for the ladies was dead on. (Great language in that sentence really helped with the humor.)
Great "don't judge a book by the cover" advice.