Mark 10:27 (New International Version)
"With man this is impossible, but not with God; all
things are possible with God."
Can you imagine what it must have been like to actually
walk on the moon?
At 6:31 P.M., January 27, 1967 disaster hit Apollo 1
Command module. It had been designed to perform a 10 days orbit around the
earth and if successful, the next stage would have been planned: a trip to the
moon! That fateful afternoon, as astronauts Grissom, White, and Chaffee were
going through a countdown dress rehearsal, a fire ignited near Grissom's feet.
Because the space module was filled 100% with oxygen instead of the typical
earth's atmosphere of 80% nitrogen and 20% oxygen, the fire quickly spread with
ferocious hunger. As the astronauts desperately tried to open the hatch, the
temperatures inside the capsule quickly ascended to 2500 degrees Fahrenheit.
Before anything could be done, Apollo 1 was a blazing ball of fire. There was
no time for rescue attempts. The three astronauts died within seconds.
How easy it would have been for NASA, after this tragedy,
to give up that dream of placing men on the moon. Why risk other astronauts'
lives? Why spend unearthly hours for a project destined for failure? Why worry
about something that was not meant to be? Was it really worth it?
They didn't give up. In fact, the opposite took place!
They took the time they needed to locate the problems in that module and to
rectify them. They installed a hatch that would open in 15 seconds; they
removed all flammable substances from the capsule, and they adjusted the
oxygen/nitrogen air mix. Ten months later, the unmanned Apollo 4 was a success.
Eleven months after that the Apollo 7 crew successfully completed Apollo 1's
mission. On Christmas Eve of that same year of 1968, Apollo 8 orbited the moon,
and on July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong actually set foot on the moon!
If simple men can reach the moon, you can most certainly
reach the stars with God's help! Giving up is an easy way out, but is it really
worth it? As long as you are lined up with God's will, you will be unstoppable.
Yes, opposition will arise and calamities will be caused, especially if you are
joining God at work, but the Creator is above all of our circumstances!
To tell you the truth, every one of our Answers2Prayer
volunteers experienced terrible opposition from the evil one as soon as they
join this ministry. The devil's biggest weapon? Discouragement! "Hit them
where they are the weakest and they will fall apart!" is his strategy.
He tried this on Jesus Himself, 2000 years ago, using one
of his closest disciples: "From that time on Jesus began to explain to his
disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of
the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed
and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to
rebuke him. 'Never, Lord!' He said. 'This shall never happen to you!' Jesus
turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to
me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.'"
(Matt 16:21-23 NIV)
Those who gave up quickly never were able to fathom the
wonders that God would have performed through them. They could have reached the
stars, driven by God Himself!
"Giving up" is music to the ears of the enemy!
However we are serving One who is bigger and more powerful than all the
possible obstacles that could face us!
"So we're not giving up. How could we! Even though
on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the
inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding
grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times,
the lavish celebration prepared for us. There's far more here than meets the
eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we
can't see now will last forever." (2 Cor 4:16-18 The Message)
May we learn from the prophet Micah and stand firm,
watching attentively where God invites us to join Him in His work and reach out
to those who have no hope!
Dear Lord thank You that we can do all things through You.
Help us today to share that great news with someone today. In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
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