Pensamientos para hoy (afterthought for today)
We all need a ray of hope
If you follow baseball, then you probably know that the New York Yankees were in a bad slump. They are now on a rebound and have won several games in a row, but their long loosing streak may have put them too far behind to win the Division East this year. They do have a chance, however, and as long as they have that ray of hope, the Yankees will keep pushing and working hard to win the Championship. As they say in baseball: "It ain't over 'till the fat lady sings."
We all need a ray of hope that we still have a chance. We all need to believe that there is light at the end of the tunnel. But when you're in the middle of a loosing streak or facing a major obstacle, it's sometimes difficult to stay optimistic. When I was in the fifth grade I played basketball. Our team lost every game. It was bad enough that I couldn't shoot or dribble the ball, but the rest of the team wasn't that good either. Needless to say, I never went out for basketball again. Then in Jr. High I went out for the football team, but I broke my collar bone during practice and never got to play. After that I didn't participate in competition sports. I had no interest in competition sports until 2001 when I began to enter running races. I had been running since 1976 but only started to race in 2001. Although I will never be a champion runner, I have done well in most of my races.
Unfortunately I'm unable to run today due to injuries. Not being able to run has been very discouraging. I've tried to recover from the injury and get back into running but have had little success. I don't know if I will ever be able to run again. But I haven't given up hope. I'm hoping and praying that I may be able to recover from my injuries. I have a plan, and I'm working that plan. A big part of the plan is my faith in God. I believe that God wants me to run--not because I'm all that fast but because running has been part of my journey of faith. Running helped me find the Lord. Running helped me to think more optimistically. Running changed my view of life and my view of the future. Running helped me to think about God and for the last thirty years running and God have been a big part of my life. One verse that has been a special encouragement is found in the prophet Isaiah:
The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or tired
His understanding is inscrutable.
He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks might He increases power.
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men stumble badly,
Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
(Isaiah 40:28-31)1
So I keep looking up to God and trust that perhaps he might let me run again. My recovery is taking a lot longer than I hoped but I haven't given up. There is a ray of hope that my body may recover, and though I know that I'll never be as fast as I was, I may still be able to fly down the road with the wind at my back, a smile on my face, joy in my heart, and Jesus by my side. What could be better than that?
Hoping to run again,
Pastor Steve
Footnotes
1 Isaiah 40:28-31, NASB (New American Standard Bible). Unless otherwise noted all Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
Jesus is the greatest teacher who ever lived. One of Jesus' techniques was to relate spiritual ideas to common everyday life. Pensamientos (afterthought) is an attempt to follow Jesus' method of teaching. Its title is in Spanish because we recognize the importance of multi-culturalism. We hope to translate some of these messages into Spanish soon.
Find more afterthoughts at Pensamientos (afterthoughts).
You can read recent sermons by Pastor Lorenz at Featured Sermon.