Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Hope

Remember how fleeting is my life.
For what futility you have created all men!
What man can live and not see death,
or save himself from the power of the grave?
PSALM 89:47-48 (NIV)

A recurrent theme for those who suffer is a sense of futility about life. With their hopes dashed, their strength gone and their future uncertain, they begin to see life like the psalmist in verses 47 -48.

I call this perspective “stark reality.” It’s stark because it stands out in bold relief, in sharp black and white. And it’s reality because there’s no escaping from it.

Viewing our life as fleeting can change the wasteful way so many of us live. For many of us who have overcome serious adversity, this perspective helps us to live purposeful lives that give glory to God. Amazing, isn’t it, how God can use death to lead us to vibrant life!

That is why we never give up.
though our bodies are dying,
our spirits are being renewed every day.
For our present troubles are small
and won’t last very long.
Yet they produce for us a glory
that vastly outweighs them
and will last forever!
So we don’t look at the troubles
we can see now;
rather we fix our gaze
on things that cannot be seen.
For the things we see now will soon be gone,
but the things we cannot see will last forever.
2 CORINTHIANS 4:16-18 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Hope

A Fleeting Shadow

“Shout that people are like the grass.
Their beauty fades as quickly
as the flowers in a field.
The grass withers and the flowers fade
beneath the breath of the Lord.
and so it is with people.
The grass withers and the flowers fade,
but the word of God stands forever.”
ISAIAH 40:6-8 (NLT)

When Job found himself in the middle of his calamities, he cried out, “Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble. He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure.” (Job 14:1-2)

Our bodies are frail things. I remember that every time I look in the mirror and see empty space where my left arm and shoulder ought to be. Our bodies are fragile – not a terribly encouraging thought is it?

Yet this is the very reason we can depend upon God for His help. As the psalmist said, “As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him; for He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.” (Psalm 103:13-14)

Never forget that while God knows we are “dust,” He treats us as His “children.” Rather than sweep us out of His house, He has promised to sweep us up in His arms.

And we believers also groan,
even though we have the Holy Spirit within us
as a foretaste of future glory,
for we long for our bodies
to be released from sin and suffering.
We, too, wait with eager hope for the day
when God will give us our full rights
as his adopted children,
including the new bodies he has promised us.
ROMANS 8:23 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Hope

David went out to meet them and said to them,
“if you have come to me in peace to help me,
I am ready to have you unite with me.”
1 CHRONICLES 12:17 (NIV)

Quite often God entrusts His great love to the gentle touch of a human hand, the familiar sound of a voice. And that’s only one reason why we need each other so desperately. Here are a few more:

I need your tears to validate mine (Romans 12:15).

I need your silence to acknowledge the depth of my pain (Job 2:11-13).

I need your hand to reach down and lift me up when I fall (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10).

I need your willingness to be a vessel through which God can speak (1 Peter 4:11).

I need your example of servanthood to encourage me in my spiritual journey (John 13:3-15).

I need your wisdom when I’m in a difficult situation (Exodus 18:14-27).

I need your perspective to sharpen my own (Proverbs 27:17).

I need your loyalty when others betray me (1 Samuel 20:1-17).

I need your advocacy when I face the unknown (1 Kings 5:1).

I need your prayers even when I can’t pray for myself (Ephesians 6:18).

And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need.
These are the sacrifices that please God.
HEBREWS 13:16 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan & Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Hope

Then a great and powerful wind
tore the mountains apart
and shattered the rocks before the Lord,
but the Lord was not in the wind.
After the wind there was an earthquake,
but the Lord was not in the earthquake.
After the earthquake came a fire,
but the Lord was not in the fire.
And after the fire came a gentle whisper.
1 KINGS 19:12 (NIV)

Elijah was fresh from the victory at Carmel, where God had spoken clearly and powerfully to the nation with fire falling from heaven. But now the prophet was discouraged and depressed and needed to hear from God again, this time to receive encouragement and direction.

God’s response to Elijah fit the condition of the weary prophet’s heart. Elijah needed a gentle, reassuring, fatherly interaction with God, not a message delivered via earthquake or windstorm. The depths of God’s character and love are shown throughout Scripture as He responds to His children in just the way they need Him most.

A broken heart needs a tender touch as surely as a rebellious one may require a heavy hand. The God who formed the heart and soul of every person knows best how to speak to them. Our responsibility is to be in a position to listen.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.
PSALM 34:18 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Dave Dravecky

Endurance for the Journey, Featured, Hope

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.
He came to a groom tree, sat down under it
and prayed that he might die.
“I have had enough, Lord,” he said.
“Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”
1 KINGS 19:4 (NIV)

Dave’s comeback, his return to the pitching mound after having over half his arm muscles removed, was a wild ride full of excitement, emotion and gratitude towards God. I remember sensing God’s presence and love so strongly during that time that I thought my faith was unshakable. I was wrong. Just one year later, I was crippled by severe clinical depression.

Where was God now? I doubted His love for me and – at times – His very existence. I was sure no one else had gone so quickly from such a wonderful spiritual experience to the depths of despair. I was wrong again!

Elijah had just come off an incredible spiritual victory, where the odds had been stacked against him 450 to one. Yet mere hours later, on the run from an evil queen, the prophet couldn’t outrun his despair.

I found tremendous encouragement in Elijah’s story. The distance between the mountaintop and the valley floor can be quickly traversed. Yet God’s children who make that journey discover that God is in both places.

I can never escape from your Spirit!
I can never get away from your presence!
If I go up to heaven, you are there;
if I go down to the grave, you are there.
If I ride the wings of the morning,
if I dwell by the farthest oceans,
even there your hand will guide me,
and your strength will support me.
PSALM 139:7-10 (NLT)

On the journey with you,
Jan Dravecky