Daily Thoughts about God

by Max Lucado
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Bill Tucker was sixteen years old when his dad suffered a health crisis and consequently had to leave his business. Even after Mr. Tucker regained his health, the Tucker family struggled financially, barely getting by.

Mr. Tucker, an entrepreneurial sort, came up with an idea. He won the bid to reupholster the chairs at the local movie theater. This stunned his family. He had never stitched a seat. He didn’t even own a sewing apparatus. Still, he found someone to teach him the skill and located an industrial-strength machine. The family scraped together every cent they had to buy it. They drained savings accounts and dug coins out of the sofa. Finally, they had enough.

It was a fine day when Bill road with his dad to pick up the equipment. Bill remembers a jovial, hour-long trip discussing the bright horizons this new opportunity afforded them. They loaded the machine in the back of their truck and secured it right behind the cab. Mr. Tucker then invited his son to drive home. I’ll let Bill tell you what happened next:

“As we were driving along, we were excited, and I, like any sixteen-year-old driver, was probably not paying enough attention to my speed. Just as we were turning on the clover leaf to get on the expressway, I will never ever, ever forget watching that sewing machine, which was already top-heavy, begin to tip. I slammed on the brakes, but it was too late. I saw it go over the side. I jumped out and ran around the back of the truck. As I rounded the corner, I saw our hope and our dream lying on its side in pieces. And then I saw my dad just looking. All of his risk and all of his endeavor and all of his struggling and all of his dream, all of his hope to take care of his family was lying there, shattered.”

“You know what comes next don’t you? “Stupid, punk kid driving too fast, not paying attention, ruined the family by taking away our livelihood.” But that’s not what he said. He looked right at me. “Oh, Bill, I am so sorry.” And he walked over, put his arms around me, and said, “Son, this is going to be okay.”

God is whispering the same to you. Those are his arms you feel. Trust him. That is his voice you hear. Believe him. Allow the only decision maker in the universe to comfort you. Life at times appears to fall to pieces, seem irreparable. But it’s going to be okay. How can you know? Because God so loved the world. If God can make a billion galaxies, can’t he make good out of our bad and sense out of our faltering lives? Of course he can. He is God.

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From: 3:16, The Numbers of Hope
Copyright (W Publishing Group, 2007) Max Lucado

Used by permission
To learn more about Max Lucado visit his website at:
http://www.maxlucado.com/about/

by John Grant

“Be Still and Know That I Am God.” Psalm 46:10

Hastily I finished my last appointment on Capitol Hill and made a mad dash for Union Station and not a minute too early, as I arrived one minute before the Acila Express left for New York. I presented my ticket and walked at a fast pace down to Track 15, where I jumped aboard the first Business Class car available. After stowing my luggage I settled in my seat just as the train slowly pulled out of the station. My cell phone rang and just as soon as I began the conversation a lady a couple of rows forward turned to me with her finger to her lips and pointing to the sign overhead which read “Quiet Car.”

The sign explained the rules of the Quiet Car: no talking, no cell phones, no standing in the aisles. In other words, that translates to be quiet and be still, so reluctantly, I did. Where I would normally pull out my lap top, do mail and make phone calls, now about all I could do was sit, read, watch and listen, and I did a little of each.

First, I took out my Encounter devotional and my Bible and proceeded to pour through the scriptures. I just sat back and listened. Listened to God and listened to my inner self. I spent a lot of time looking out the window. A record snowfall had turned the countryside in to a winter wonderland. What a sight as the train picked up speed and we traversed the countryside of Maryland, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. I saw God’s majestic hand in the beautiful ice formations and in the drifts of snow. It was as if I could see God himself. It was an awesome quiet time and when the train pulled into Penn Station, I got off a rejuvenated man, all because I had jumped on the Quiet Car.

The experience on the train last week has given me a lot to think about, He is asking: “How are you with your quiet time?” I was again reminded of the need for a quiet time just yesterday as I checked into a hotel. When I got off the elevator, a large sign greeted me informing that I had entered a “Quiet Zone“, where no children, leisure groups or circus animals will be assigned. It further instructed that in this area there would be no loud TV, no slamming of doors and no loud singing in the shower.

God’s quiet time formula is much like His stewardship formula: “The more you give, the more you receive.” I have found that when I do carve out a time for God, preferably at the beginning of the day, though at first my schedule says I don’t have time, I have to respond and make time. And. When I do, somehow God always stretches my schedule and I am more productive than ever.

This is my busiest season of the year and so easy to shut God out of the schedule, but all the more reason for the Master to gently remind me, whether through a sign on a train or in a hotel, every day we need to be reminded to spend time with Him and then pull apart before you fall apart. I highly recommend a ride on the Quiet Car, actually or symbolically every day in every life.

(a thought on life from John Grant)

John Grant is a former Florida State Senator and is a practicing attorney. He is an active writer and frequent speaker. He can be reached by e-mail at [John.Grant@johngrant.net]

It’s Going to Be Okay

A Ride on the Quiet Car

Daily Thoughts about God Posts

It’s Going to Be Okay

A Ride on the Quiet Car