Friday, August 7, 2015
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Five-year-old Jeremy started school in the Fall, and it was more than he bargained for. It was his second morning of his kindergarten experience. Mom got Jeremy up and started helping him get ready. And then came this question, "Do I have to go back to school?" He wasn't counting on an encore. His rationale was, "Well, I already went yesterday." His mother told us, "I didn't have the heart to tell him he's got twelve more years of going to school." Well, he went off to day two - of year one - of twelve more years.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Handling the Overwhelming."
I think Jeremy was feeling overwhelmed, and he would have sunk if his mom had tried to explain the educational marathon he had ahead. He had no idea! But Jeremy will make it. Just like you did. And just like I did. Not by thinking about twelve years, but by doing that school thing one day at a time.
Now, you've probably gotten over the idea of school being overwhelming, but little Jeremy could never guess that life is a series of challenges that seem overwhelming. School is the least of it. Maybe you're facing one of those right now and it looks huge. You've got this bombardment of responsibilities and stressful deadlines, the lifetime ahead of raising that child. Or it's really hard to make your marriage work right now, or you've got a long medical marathon ahead of you. Maybe you're trying to dig out of a financial pit, or you're just trying to live your life for Jesus Christ.
Our word for today from the Word of God is from Deuteronomy 7:17. God writes to the Jews back then, "You may say to yourselves, 'These nations are stronger than we are. How can we drive them out?' But do not be afraid." See, as they enter the Promised Land they are facing huge walled cities, barbaric tribes, overwhelming obstacles and challenges.
Continuing in verse 22, "Do not be terrified by them, for the Lord your God, who is among you, is a great and awesome God. The Lord your God will drive out those nations before you little by little." Man! What hope giving words! God will win this one with you and for you, but not in one great victory. Jeremy won't be able to get his education in one day or one week. It's going to be little by little.
That's God's plan for you to handle the overwhelming, little by little. Break it into daily chunks, manageable pieces. Have a good day. Let Jesus be the Lord of the undone at the end of that day. Remember, daily is how He promised He would give you the strength. He said, "Your strength will equal your days." Not weeks, not months, not years - days. There's no strength for Friday when it's Thursday. You only get Thursday's strength on Thursday. You run ahead of your strength and you'll sink like an army running ahead of its supply lines.
Maybe you've been wondering how you're going to ever beat that sin that has beaten you so many times, or how you can carry out your desire to dedicate your whole life to Jesus. You know what you do? You win for one day. You let Jesus be Lord of that weakness for this day. Then you do another twenty-four hour victory. And you don't try to dedicate your life to Jesus unless you do it by dedicating each new day. There's a reason Jesus said, "If any man would come after Me, let him take up his cross daily and follow Me." You give Him a day, you give Him the next day, give Him the day after that and He'll make a life out of it.
The Christian life is the sum total of a thousand little victories one day at a time. Just like little Jeremy going to school. He didn't have to worry. You don't have to worry about all those months and all those years ahead. The secret of handling the overwhelming is to do it little by little. Remember, "This is the day the Lord has made."