SCRIPTURE: 2 Timothy 2:12
(TM)
If we stick it out
with him, we'll rule with him; If we turn our backs on him, he'll turn his back
on us
STORY by Craig Brian
Larson:
In
1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. According to Leon
Jaroff in Time, the satellite's primary mission was to reach Jupiter,
photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter's
magnetic field, radiation belts, and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a
bold plan, for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars, and
they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach
its target.
But
Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Swinging past the
giant planet in November 1973, Jupiter's immense gravity hurled Pioneer 10 at a
higher rate of speed toward the edge of the solar system. At one billion miles
from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled
past Uranus; Neptune at nearly three billion miles; Pluto at almost four
billion miles. By 1997, twenty-five years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more
than six billion miles from the sun.
And
despite that immense distance, Pioneer 10 continued to beam back radio signals
to scientists on Earth. "Perhaps most remarkable," writes Jaroff,
"those signals emanate from an 8-watt transmitter, which radiates about as
much power as a bedroom night light, and takes more than nine hours to reach
Earth."
The
Little Satellite That Could was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers
designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of just three years. But it kept going
and going. By simple longevity, its tiny 8-watt transmitter radio accomplished
more than anyone thought possible.
So it
is when we offer ourselves to serve the Lord. God can work even through someone
with 8-watt abilities. God cannot work, however, through someone who quits.
OBSERVATION:
The temptation to just give up; to throw in the towel; to
turn our backs and walk away; to throw up our hands in frustration; to quit …
that temptation is strong in most of us at various times in our life. The work,
the task, the responsibility it would seem become too heavy for us to endure.
Wouldn’t it be easier to start over?
Quitting on the Lord is not an option unless we want God to
give up on us. Ouch! And since he hasn’t given up on us why should we do it on
him. For this old preacher it is usually in those times when the desire is
strong to walk away is the strongest that victory is ultimately realized and
new strength is found to move forward.
Life is filled with challenging events and situations. Many
would appear, at first glance, to be too large for any individual to deal with
successfully, but that is precisely the point of our relationship with God. God
wants to be involved. God wants to be relied upon. God wants to help. Life
brings the challenges, but God brings the victory. To give up and walk away is
to give up on God’s ability to do all things regardless of the circumstances or
situation. All we have to bring to the table is an “8-watt” desire for God
bring about success!
PRAYER:
Create in us a clean heart, O Lord, so that our little,
tiny, “8-watt” desire will be placed so that you can use it to bring about
victory. Help us not to give up! Ever!
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