A Little Pull

By: Keith Walmsley

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Have you ever had one of those days where you felt down and out? When we are in this situation it is easy to fall and not get back up. We get to the point where we feel we have too much weight on our shoulders and we do not want to carry it anymore. Having these feelings is similar to the story of The Little Engine that Could. We seem to be doing fine with life and next thing we realize is that we are on our way up a steep hill and do not have enough strength to get over the hill. Just as the little steam engine went to engines that appeared to be willing to help, we tend to go to the wrong sources for the strength that we need. Once the little engine found the right source of strength they were able to work together and get over the hill. In Matthew 11:28, Christ offers an offer that we should not want to refuse. He invites us to bring all of our burdens and give them over to Him. What a great source of strength!

"We can fight the good fight and win the prize."

It seems once we get ourselves in a rut, we dwell on the things that have gone wrong and do not rely on our true source of strength. Paul, a man who found himself in many situations gives us encouraging words in Philippians 3:13,14: ì...but one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what it ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.î What an amazing prize we have in store for us once we finish the race of life!

In order to run the race of life, we have to rely on Christ but we also have to rely on the help of our Christian brothers and sisters. It is pertinent to offer words of encouragement and strength to one another and to lend a hand to help pull others out of the ruts of life. What a difference a verbal push of encouragement can make in the life of someone that is stuck. Just as the two steam engines worked together to get over the hill, we must be willing to team up and help others over the hills of life. I encourage us to work together to unite with each other in order to strengthen ourselves, this church, and our community. When we get stuck in ruts of life, we cannot forget that Christ is there saying, ìI know you can, I know you can, I know you can.î

I pray that God will continue to bless us and that, with the strength of Christ and the encouragement of brothers and sisters, we can fight the good fight and win the prize.

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