A daily, Bible-based perspective of hope,
encouragement and exhortation.
Thursday,
November 1, 2018
Golden
Gate Bridge with fog
Click
on photo to enlarge
"The
Necessity And Blessing Of Flexibility"
Note:
This week we are gleaning lessons from
observations we made while walking across
the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Message
summary: Consider the blessing of flexibility
as God brings to pass that which He has
planned for us even though it might not
be the way we had expected it to happen,
in the time frame we had in mind or even
as we want it to.
Listen
to our message
on your audio player.
"We
can make our plans, but the final
outcome is in God’s hands" (Proverbs
16:1, The Living Bible). "Now
listen, you who say, 'Today or
tomorrow we will go to this or that
city, spend a year there, carry on
business and make money.' Why, you
do not even know what will happen
tomorrow. What is your life? You are
a mist that appears for a little
while and then vanishes. Instead,
you ought to say, 'If it is the
Lord’s will, we will live and do
this or that'" (James 4:13-15).
On
the San Francisco side of the Golden
Gate Bridge there's a nice visitor's
center that has information about the
bridge and of course a gift shop. As I
was waiting for Brooksyne and Ester to
walk across the bridge I saw the sign
above which deals with "bridge deck
deflection". Essentially the Golden Gate
Bridge is designed to sway 27 feet to
either side to move flexibly in the
wind.
In
engineering, deflection is the degree to
which a structural element is displaced
under a load. It may refer to an angle
or a distance. It is a necessary design
feature due to varying loads upon the
bridge and environmental factors.
Similarly we must have flexibility in
life. Things don't always work out the
way we plan or want. The character trait
of flexibility has been defined as "Not
setting my affections on ideas or plans
which could be changed by God or others.
James
describes this necessary flexibility: "Now
listen, you who say, 'Today or
tomorrow we will go to this or that
city, spend a year there, carry on
business and make money." Why, you do
not even know what will happen
tomorrow. What is your life? You are a
mist that appears for a little while
and then vanishes. Instead, you ought
to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we
will live and do this or that" (James
4:13-15).
God directs our lives every day, whether it's a day of routine or whether it's a day of upheaval. Flexibility allows us to have peace and assurance regardless. It's during those times of upheaval that we often have difficulty hearing His voice and knowing which step to take next. Uncertainty looms over us and we want to make the right choice or give the proper response. How good it is when we take our concern to the Lord and we hear His voice in our spirit directing us, "This is the way, walk in it". A
proverb Brooksyne quotes often is "We
may make our plans, but God has the
final say" (paraphrase of Proverbs
16:1). Planning and strategizing short
and long term goals is an important part
of life, but it is especially reassuring
that God's sovereign hand overrules our
limited knowledge, as we trust our lives
to His care. That's the blessing of
flexibility as He brings to pass that
which He has planned for us even though
it might not be the way we had expected
it to happen, in the time frame we had
in mind or even as we want it to.
Be
encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber ![]() Today's
Suggested
Music and Supplemental Resources
"God
Leads Us Along" Video
Gaither Vocal Band
Finally
today:
A
beautiful day yesterday but we
must get ready for winter!
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