BBD 04.13.21 Stay in the Race (Classic)

#1 · April 13, 2021, 11:39 am

Quote from Forum Archives on April 13, 2021, 11:39 am
Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Classic from 2002

Burning Bush Devotional

13 April 2021

Stay in the Race

I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy 4:7.

The Quecreek Mine
Rescue occurred when nine miners were trapped underground for more than 78
hours, from July 24–28, 2002. In
order to bring about the rescue of the nine miners from the Quecreek Mine in
western Pennsylvania it was necessary to assemble a large amount of equipment
and manpower in a short period of time. It was a desperate operation in a race
against time, which involved more than 150 workers and many tons of heavy
equipment.

The
rescue involved making calculated risks of where and when to drill. Decisions
had to be made about pumping out water and pumping in air. There was also a
terrible setback with a drill bit broke resulting in a delay of 18 hours. Those
hours seemed like an eternity to the rescuers and to the trapped miners who
could no longer hear the noise of the drilling. Questions passed through their
minds as to whether the miners would still be alive after such a long
delay, could they still reach them in time?

We know
now that the miners were reached in time and that the decisions made under difficult
conditions were the right ones. With the rescue effort, we see a parable of the
Christian life. We walk by faith and not by sight. We see through a “glass darkly” while we are living
here on Planet Earth. We have to make decisions many times without seeing
everything in black and white and only believing that we are doing what the
Lord would have us to do. Our lives, the apostle Paul says, are like being in a
fight and a race at the same time. The rescuers of the miners were in a race
against time and in a fight against the difficult conditions and uncertainties
to bring about the rescue.

During
our race, we too will sometimes experience setbacks, or what we think are
setbacks. The rescuers broke a drill bit, and it set them back for 18 very long
hours. What a terrible thing we all thought! But now we know
it was really not such a terrible thing. Instead, it was a lifesaving miracle
that prevented the deaths of the miners. According to the miners if the drill
had punched through the ceiling of the mine sooner than it did then the
delicate air bubble that was keeping them alive would have been ruptured. If
the air bubble had been ruptured it would have allowed the water to rush in but
with the additional time pumps were able to reduce the water level so that the
miner’s chamber was not flooded.

How
many times even now can we look back and see that what seemed to be some
horrible thing at the time was actually a good thing? And some day when we have
fought the good fight and finished the race, we will look back over our lives.
As we look at many of the difficulties that we encountered in our lives most
likely we will see that many were for our benefit (Romans 8:28).

So, the
next time your drill bit breaks, and you are delayed or have to change course
remember it may not be such a bad thing. Stay in the race, keep the
faith and keep on fighting!

Copyright © 2002 - 2021. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of
those first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent
to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush website:

www.theburningbush.net

The Burning Bush websites are
celebrating 23 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to subscribers
across the world. At one time there were 18,000 subscribers in more than 70
countries to the devotional but that has now shrunk to around 9,000.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right-hand corner of all of the pages.

Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the Devotionals at
the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of the home page.
Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.

Please pray for God to touch and
bring about His will in these lives: Caleb Freeman’ Pat S.; Buck & Barbara
Wright; Gwen P.; James Perkins and his wife; Vonnie; Evi Porter; Addison; JoJo,
Bailey and Nicky; Ralph and De Chapman; Hilary; Cody Stahlman; Patsy M.; Zoe
Marx Jones; Brandy and Jadyn’s Dad; Patricia Rohman and Lisa Butler who has had
a stroke; Scott J.; Karla W.; Clayton T. and Sarah; Lana Bass; Shonda H.
(fighting cancer); and please pray for my wife, Jeanie, who is having a problem
with her heart.

Please pray for the coronavirus
COVID19 pandemic to come to an end. Pray for treatments and a cure for the
virus to be rapidly found and deployed. Pray for all those afflicted to be
healed and for our leaders to have supernatural wisdom and ability to lead us
through this pandemic.

Please pray for an end to the
rioting, looting, wanton destruction, and the racial hatred in the USA and that
it will be replaced with peace and love. May God help the USA! Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of
course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. 03.18.18 I accepted the call to be the pastor of Fairview
Baptist Church in Elk City, Oklahoma. Please pray for me and for this church.).

You can contact Ed Wrather at
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com

If you enjoy the devotional please
recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

--

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org

Posted by: theburningbushdevotional <theburningbushdevotional@...>

Classic from 2002

Burning Bush Devotional

13 April 2021

Stay in the Race

I have
fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
- 2 Timothy 4:7.

The Quecreek Mine
Rescue occurred when nine miners were trapped underground for more than 78
hours, from July 24–28, 2002. In
order to bring about the rescue of the nine miners from the Quecreek Mine in
western Pennsylvania it was necessary to assemble a large amount of equipment
and manpower in a short period of time. It was a desperate operation in a race
against time, which involved more than 150 workers and many tons of heavy
equipment.

The
rescue involved making calculated risks of where and when to drill. Decisions
had to be made about pumping out water and pumping in air. There was also a
terrible setback with a drill bit broke resulting in a delay of 18 hours. Those
hours seemed like an eternity to the rescuers and to the trapped miners who
could no longer hear the noise of the drilling. Questions passed through their
minds as to whether the miners would still be alive after such a long
delay, could they still reach them in time?

We know
now that the miners were reached in time and that the decisions made under difficult
conditions were the right ones. With the rescue effort, we see a parable of the
Christian life. We walk by faith and not by sight. We see through a “glass darkly” while we are living
here on Planet Earth. We have to make decisions many times without seeing
everything in black and white and only believing that we are doing what the
Lord would have us to do. Our lives, the apostle Paul says, are like being in a
fight and a race at the same time. The rescuers of the miners were in a race
against time and in a fight against the difficult conditions and uncertainties
to bring about the rescue.

During
our race, we too will sometimes experience setbacks, or what we think are
setbacks. The rescuers broke a drill bit, and it set them back for 18 very long
hours. What a terrible thing we all thought! But now we know
it was really not such a terrible thing. Instead, it was a lifesaving miracle
that prevented the deaths of the miners. According to the miners if the drill
had punched through the ceiling of the mine sooner than it did then the
delicate air bubble that was keeping them alive would have been ruptured. If
the air bubble had been ruptured it would have allowed the water to rush in but
with the additional time pumps were able to reduce the water level so that the
miner’s chamber was not flooded.

How
many times even now can we look back and see that what seemed to be some
horrible thing at the time was actually a good thing? And some day when we have
fought the good fight and finished the race, we will look back over our lives.
As we look at many of the difficulties that we encountered in our lives most
likely we will see that many were for our benefit (Romans 8:28).

So, the
next time your drill bit breaks, and you are delayed or have to change course
remember it may not be such a bad thing. Stay in the race, keep the
faith and keep on fighting!

Copyright © 2002 - 2021. Ed
Wrather. The Burning Bush website has been online since January 31, 1998. On
June 8, 1998 the email version of the Burning Bush Devotional was first sent.
Ed Wrather began writing devotionals in the early 1990s. The distribution of
those first devotionals was primarily through the Burning Bush Newsletter sent
to prison facilities throughout the United States and Canada.

Visit the
Burning Bush website:

http://www.theburningbush.net

The Burning Bush websites are
celebrating 23 years online since January 31, 1998. Since June 8, 1998 the
Burning Bush Devotional has been spreading the truth of God's Word to subscribers
across the world. At one time there were 18,000 subscribers in more than 70
countries to the devotional but that has now shrunk to around 9,000.

You can leave comments/feedback
about the devotionals at http://www.theburningbush.net.

There is a translation tool on
theburningbush.net website in the top right-hand corner of all of the pages.

Check out the Scripture Index being constructed for the Devotionals at
the Burning Bush website. The Links are in about the middle of the home page.
Topics for each devotional are now being added to the Index.

Please pray for God to touch and
bring about His will in these lives: Caleb Freeman’ Pat S.; Buck & Barbara
Wright; Gwen P.; James Perkins and his wife; Vonnie; Evi Porter; Addison; JoJo,
Bailey and Nicky; Ralph and De Chapman; Hilary; Cody Stahlman; Patsy M.; Zoe
Marx Jones; Brandy and Jadyn’s Dad; Patricia Rohman and Lisa Butler who has had
a stroke; Scott J.; Karla W.; Clayton T. and Sarah; Lana Bass; Shonda H.
(fighting cancer); and please pray for my wife, Jeanie, who is having a problem
with her heart.

Please pray for the coronavirus
COVID19 pandemic to come to an end. Pray for treatments and a cure for the
virus to be rapidly found and deployed. Pray for all those afflicted to be
healed and for our leaders to have supernatural wisdom and ability to lead us
through this pandemic.

Please pray for an end to the
rioting, looting, wanton destruction, and the racial hatred in the USA and that
it will be replaced with peace and love. May God help the USA! Many prayer
needs are posted at the Burning Bush website on the Prayer Request page. You
can also post your prayer requests there (Of
course, I am always in need of prayer - please pray for me. 03.18.18 I accepted the call to be the pastor of Fairview
Baptist Church in Elk City, Oklahoma. Please pray for me and for this church.).

You can contact Ed Wrather at
theburningbushdevotional@gmail.com

If you enjoy the devotional please
recommend it to your friends. They may subscribe by sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-join@welovegod.org

There is a complete devotional
archive at the old Burning Bush website. Here is the URL: http://www.theburningbush.org/DevotionalArchive.html.

Devotion vs Devotional: We do our
devotions, we read devotionals.

You can unsubscribe to the burningbushdevo devotional group by
sending a blank email to burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email.

You may subscribe to the html text group (Because of time
constraints the devotional is only being sent now in html format) by sending a
blank email to burningbushhtml-join@welovegod.org and you may unsubscribe by
sending a blank email to burningbushhtml-leave@welovegod.org and then respond
to the confirmation email. If the link does not work, copy and paste the link.

To unsubscribe, send ANY message to: burningbushdevo-leave@welovegod.org