Quote from Forum Archives on May 16, 2002, 1:19 pm

Posted by: masinick <masinick@...>

Dear friends,

My friend Larry Davies is having a problem with walls knocking him
down this week. Can you help him out? 🙂 I am not anywhere near
Larry in wanting to come up with visual illustrations like that!
Besides, if I wanted to get through a wall of men, I think I'd try
asking them if they'd let me past! Isn't that the best answer? 🙂

Seriously, Larry's unintended illustration and his intended
illustration are both reminders of how God can work in our lives. God
does not automatically remove all of the obstacles in our life ---
quite the contrary. He generally leaves obstacles in our path, many
of them for our own safety and good, others of them to teach us
important object lessons, and still others, just to remind us to rely
completely on Him for everything! Man, do I EVER have a big object
lesson going on right now! 🙂

Your Brother in Christ,
Brian

Reply-to: "Sowing Seeds of Faith..." <sowseeds@nesbeonline.com>
Subject: Honest: The Wall Knocked me Down!

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"Honest: The Wall Knocked Me Down!" Larry Davies

"We need three strong volunteers," I said to the congregation for our
Sunday children's message. Hesitantly, (I have a reputation for
embarrassing folks.) three men came forward. I lined them up side by
side and announced: "You are to be a wall. No matter what I say or do,
you must not let me through. Do you understand?" At this point they
gave me suspicious looks but nodded in agreement.

So with a theatrical flourish, I waved my hand toward the three men
and announced: "Children, pretend these men are a wall. I am about to
walk right through that wall. Do you know why? Because I am a positive
thinker and fill my mind regularly with happy thoughts. Do you believe
I can do it?"

Several children grinned and nodded their heads while a few shook
their heads vigorously from side to side. However, the three men had a
different look: serious. They were not going to let me through. With a
happy smile on my face, I confidently strode toward the wall and
bounced backwards like rubber ball. The children were laughing and
even the men forming the wall were starting to grin.

"What happened?" I asked. "What did I do wrong? I was thinking happy
thoughts?" Several kids started shouting directions. "Hit the wall
with your fist. Go under their legs." Finally, one of the boys said,
"Go way back and run to the wall as fast as you can."

"You're right!" I answered. "That's exactly what I need to do! Keep
thinking happy thoughts, then I step way back, run fast and crash
right through that old wall. After all, with determination and a
positive attitude we can do anything... right?!" The kids began
shouting and laughing but the men looked grim.

While running toward the wall, I assumed everyone knew this was only a
children's lesson. I had no intention of crashing through the three
men who made up that wall. At the last second, I would pretend to
bounce off the wall and go on with the story. Unfortunately, one of
the men didn't get the point.

The center "wall guy" who must have played linebacker on his school
football team put arms to chest in his best blocking stance and let me
have it, so to speak. All I remember is the sensation of flying
through the air backwards before crashing to the floor. For several
long moments there was an eerie silence as four hundred people
collectively held their breath, wondering if the pastor was still
alive?

The story was supposed to illustrate our need for God. Determination
and a positive attitude are wonderful attributes but will only take
you so far. In the end, you find yourself up against a wall with
nowhere to go. This was supposed to be a lesson on putting our faith
in God's willingness and ability to show us another way through, over
or around any wall or obstacle, no matter how big or small.

" Follow God's example in everything you do because you are his dear
children. (Eph. 5:1) " ...'continue to build your lives on the
foundation of your holy faith. And continue to pray as you are
directed by the Holy Spirit." Jude 2:20 " ...I will ask the Father and
he will give you another Counselor, who will never leave you. He is
the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth." John 14:16-17

I only expected to encounter a wall... not smashed in mid-flight.
Walls don't do that. Do they? We expect a few obstacles in our lives
but it's the full-blown tragedies that hit us by surprise and knock us
to the ground. Determination and positive attitude can't help us
here... we need something more.

Could this be God's unexpected lesson of the story? As I lay on the
ground with the wind knocked out, checking to see if the body parts
were still attached, I knew what needed to be done. No one wanted me
hurt, especially the man who hit me. Everyone was holding their
breath, praying and waiting.

I prayed for strength, slowly stood up, looked at the man who hit me,
shook my head and smiled. Four hundred people erupted in laughter and
applause. It was not the lesson, I intended but it may be the best
lesson of all. When life knocks you down, remember God will answer
your prayers and give you the strength to stand up and smile. It may
not get you through the wall but it could get you through life.

If you like this devotion you will love the book: "Breaking the Peanut
Butter Habit: Following God's Recipe for a Better Life" now on sale
only through this website. Click here for more information:
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www.sowingseedsoffaith.com/sign-up.htm

Jesus said: "You are the light of the world... like a city on a
mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don't hide your light
under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all."
(Matthew 5:14-15)

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Brian Masinick, "The Mas", mailto:masinick@yahoo.com
Home page: www.geocities.com/masinick/

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