It Ain’t Over Till It’s Over
"...Forgetting
those things which are behind, and reaching unto those things which are
before..." (Philippians 3:12)
He was one of the
greatest soldiers of his time. He lived at a time when his country needed
great soldiers! Yet his past so discouraged him that he almost never became the
leader that his country needed.
Hiram was born to a father who was harsh and cold and would always see him as a failure. His mother was not a source of emotional comfort to him either; he never once saw her moved enough to shed a tear. Hiram was always small for his age. He grew up ashamed. He was not the kind of leader his father expected him to be.
At age 17, he was pushed by his father into the U.S. Military Academy. Hiram was now 5'1" and 120 pounds. He feared failing. He hated the school, but he dared not buck his father's decision. In fact, when the academy listed his name wrong, the young man was too timid to even get the error corrected. He went through the rest of his life under a partly erroneous name.
In time, Hiram settled into the school and did acceptably… graduating just below the middle of his class. When he returned home, though, his neighbors mocked him in his new uniform, and the old humiliation returned. The boy was so deeply wounded emotionally that he would forever feel self-conscious in uniform. Later, as a 3-Star General, he would prefer to wear a simple private's shirt with 3 stars sewn on it.
After marrying and attaining the rank of Captain, he dropped out of the military. He tried various ventures in civilian life until the Civil War broke out. He then tried to reenlist as an officer. He found it hard to even get an interview with someone who could appoint him to a position.
Only a few strokes of good fortune ever made it possible for Hiram to show what kind of a military leader he really was. But he truly was a leader! For the young man who lived with a sense of inadequacy, who never had any great physical stature, and who almost couldn't make it in a career was named Hiram Ulysses Grant. We remember him as Ulysses S. Grant, leader of the victorious Northern Army and later, President of the United States.
Yogi Berra, the great New York Yankee, was right when he said, "It ain't over till it’s over." There are far too many people who live as failures, as rejects, as disappointments to themselves, to their families, and, perhaps, to God. And it need not be that way. It is never too late to make a new beginning. There is power and potential and promise within each of us waiting to be unleashed. Indeed, God's plan is that we be more and do more than any of us can ever imagine.
Consider that man whose writings and witness have touched more lives for God than any other except Christ himself. Paul had failed many times. Paul was a persecutor of the church. He was there when Stephen became the first Christian martyr. Indeed, he was part of the lynch party. He even held Stephen's cloak as Stephen was pounded into unconsciousness and then death. But a change took place in Paul's life. He became a dynamo for Christ. If anybody can give us advice on what we can do to achieve a new, vibrant, victorious life it is he. Listen to his words:
Hiram was born to a father who was harsh and cold and would always see him as a failure. His mother was not a source of emotional comfort to him either; he never once saw her moved enough to shed a tear. Hiram was always small for his age. He grew up ashamed. He was not the kind of leader his father expected him to be.
At age 17, he was pushed by his father into the U.S. Military Academy. Hiram was now 5'1" and 120 pounds. He feared failing. He hated the school, but he dared not buck his father's decision. In fact, when the academy listed his name wrong, the young man was too timid to even get the error corrected. He went through the rest of his life under a partly erroneous name.
In time, Hiram settled into the school and did acceptably… graduating just below the middle of his class. When he returned home, though, his neighbors mocked him in his new uniform, and the old humiliation returned. The boy was so deeply wounded emotionally that he would forever feel self-conscious in uniform. Later, as a 3-Star General, he would prefer to wear a simple private's shirt with 3 stars sewn on it.
After marrying and attaining the rank of Captain, he dropped out of the military. He tried various ventures in civilian life until the Civil War broke out. He then tried to reenlist as an officer. He found it hard to even get an interview with someone who could appoint him to a position.
Only a few strokes of good fortune ever made it possible for Hiram to show what kind of a military leader he really was. But he truly was a leader! For the young man who lived with a sense of inadequacy, who never had any great physical stature, and who almost couldn't make it in a career was named Hiram Ulysses Grant. We remember him as Ulysses S. Grant, leader of the victorious Northern Army and later, President of the United States.
Yogi Berra, the great New York Yankee, was right when he said, "It ain't over till it’s over." There are far too many people who live as failures, as rejects, as disappointments to themselves, to their families, and, perhaps, to God. And it need not be that way. It is never too late to make a new beginning. There is power and potential and promise within each of us waiting to be unleashed. Indeed, God's plan is that we be more and do more than any of us can ever imagine.
Consider that man whose writings and witness have touched more lives for God than any other except Christ himself. Paul had failed many times. Paul was a persecutor of the church. He was there when Stephen became the first Christian martyr. Indeed, he was part of the lynch party. He even held Stephen's cloak as Stephen was pounded into unconsciousness and then death. But a change took place in Paul's life. He became a dynamo for Christ. If anybody can give us advice on what we can do to achieve a new, vibrant, victorious life it is he. Listen to his words:
Paul knew what it meant
to forget about his failures and those that perceived him as having failed. He wrote, "...forgetting those things which are
behind, and reaching unto those things which are before..." Some
people are so concerned over the past that they destroy their future. They
cannot quit looking back. That could have happened to St. Paul. He could have
let his guilt over persecuting the church prevent him from giving his best. He
could have hung his head and said, "Nobody's going to listen to me. Look
what I've done. I'm finished. It's over."
Guilt is a strange phenomenon. It is a much more powerful force in our lives than most of us realize. Sometimes it will play tricks on us. I heard about a little boy who, during a power blackout, was acting very guilty. When his parents asked him what was wrong, he broke down and cried. Through his sobs, he confessed that on the way home from school he had kicked a power pole. He was sure his action had darkened an entire city.
That's not as extraordinary as it sounds. Psychologists have used the term scruples to describe the person whose sense of guilt over past deeds tends to restrict future accomplishments. The word scruple is derived from the Latin word, scrupulum. A scrupulum is a small pebble. When by accident a small pebble gets lodged inside one of our shoes, we feel intermittent stabs of pain as we walk. So the scrupulous Paul was committed to forging ahead. He would say, "...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." A person, as he walks through life, feels the intermittent agonies of his imagined guilt.
How do we deal with such difficulties? In American Indian culture one way of dealing with all emotional pain is to dig a hole in the ground, lie down on your stomach, and speak out loud into the hole all your negative thoughts as well as your fears, frustrations, discouragements, and anger. Then, you are to cover the hole over with dirt and "bury" those stressful emotions. However, for followers of Christ, we discover an important truth. “All things work together for the good to them that love God.” Romans 8:28. He’ll even use small pebbles. Good words to remember if life hasn’t worked out in the past or doesn’t work always work out in the future.
Guilt is a strange phenomenon. It is a much more powerful force in our lives than most of us realize. Sometimes it will play tricks on us. I heard about a little boy who, during a power blackout, was acting very guilty. When his parents asked him what was wrong, he broke down and cried. Through his sobs, he confessed that on the way home from school he had kicked a power pole. He was sure his action had darkened an entire city.
That's not as extraordinary as it sounds. Psychologists have used the term scruples to describe the person whose sense of guilt over past deeds tends to restrict future accomplishments. The word scruple is derived from the Latin word, scrupulum. A scrupulum is a small pebble. When by accident a small pebble gets lodged inside one of our shoes, we feel intermittent stabs of pain as we walk. So the scrupulous Paul was committed to forging ahead. He would say, "...but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus." A person, as he walks through life, feels the intermittent agonies of his imagined guilt.
How do we deal with such difficulties? In American Indian culture one way of dealing with all emotional pain is to dig a hole in the ground, lie down on your stomach, and speak out loud into the hole all your negative thoughts as well as your fears, frustrations, discouragements, and anger. Then, you are to cover the hole over with dirt and "bury" those stressful emotions. However, for followers of Christ, we discover an important truth. “All things work together for the good to them that love God.” Romans 8:28. He’ll even use small pebbles. Good words to remember if life hasn’t worked out in the past or doesn’t work always work out in the future.
Terry
Risser
Reflection:
1) Have you ever faced a failure that seemed
insurmountable?
2) What do you believe God has done or might do
with it?
Consider reading the Word today:
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