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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Confident (07/05/07)
Unseen Hands

The sound of a car rapidly accelerating caught my attention and I watched as the young driver raced around a track. Roadblocks and passing cars tested the player’s skill and the clock continued to count down the minutes until the end of the game. The goal was to navigate through the course with the fastest time.

Shots from a gun reverberated as the teenager carefully aimed and fired at the moving target. Ninjas, armored tanks and machine guns all posed a threat to the player who moved ahead to protect and defend the fortress. Timing was everything and missing one quick movement could end the game.

On another screen fire breathing dragons, mystical wizards, gallant knights and brave adventurers wandered through a castle maze trying to find treasure. In another fantasy realm players collected gold coins and participated in challenges. Players jumped on falling logs to avoid hitting the water below and navigated through the Mushroom Kingdom to save the Princess.

The clink and clunk of balls falling into position resounded at the pinball machine. The ball moved down toward the lower part of the screen while the paddles moved quickly to move the ball back to the top of the screen. The longer the ball kept moving back and forth, the higher the score.

All of the sounds seemed “normal” since gaming has been a fascination for quite some time. Young children, teens and even adults get into the action and test their skill. What caught my eye was the young adult standing at a machine playing a game called Mortal Kombat 2. He seemed to be about 20 years old, 5 ft. 10 in. with an average body frame. His medium length brown hair reached just to the shoulders. Blue jeans topped with a black t-shirt and covered with a San Francisco 49’ers jacket made up his attire. All the sounds from the game meant that he was making progress and racking up points rather rapidly. His hands on the side of the machine never seemed to miss a motion. They moved so quickly that at times I almost missed the movement. His face was focused on the front of the machine and he seemed self-assured and confident.

Many people stopped to study and observe. What puzzled everyone was the person playing the game so intensely appeared to be blind. Apparently he made no mistakes since the amount of playing time was at least ten minutes or longer. How ever did someone who was blind learn to play a game without making a mistake? It must have taken a lot of effort and plenty of practice. Almost as quickly as the scene had unfolded the player left the machine to see a movie. Yes, the young adult who appeared to be blind was really able to see. For fun he had memorized the game and its patterns and knew exactly what was coming next. He decided to challenge himself to see how long he could play without making a mistake. I was amazed at his ability and although he couldn’t see the people who stopped to watch him, he could mentally see the game.

As a Christian I can learn from this one brief glimpse into life. The people who paused to observe this young man saw a unique experience. However, they only saw what was before them, a blind person playing a video game. All too often I am attracted to things that catch my attention and cause me to stop and look. I need to be sure that what I am seeing is not some sin in the form of an illusion that could pull me away from Christ.

I also need to remember to keep my life focused on Christ. The young adult concentrated so much on playing the game that nothing else bothered him. The noises in the lobby became hushed and he heard only the sounds of the game he was playing. For me, nothing should take precedence over my relationship with Christ. The cares and distractions of this world need to take second place. Time should be set aside daily for prayer asking for the direction I need in life. Then His hands will gently guide me on the right path and show me where to go in life.

Philippians 1:6 Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (NIV)
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Member Comments
Member
Date
Dee Yoder
07/14/07
Your devotional is well written and interesting. Thanks for sharing it; it gave me plenty to think about while I was reading it!
Elizabeth Baize
07/17/07
You did a great job of describing the setting, and drew some very good applications from it. I especially appreciated how you pointed out that we cannot always believe what we are seeing. I'm so thankful that we can go to the Lord in prayer and can read His perfect Word. I know He will help us to discern what is true from what is only an illusion as we stay close to Him.
God Bless,
Elizabeth
Beth LaBuff 
07/17/07
You have a very unique illustration for the topic. I like this thought too, "I also need to remember to keep my life focused on Christ. The young adult concentrated so much on playing the game that nothing else bothered him." What a challenge for us to be so taken-up with Christ that we fail to let the cares of this world affect us. Thanks for the challenge your writing gave me.