Thursday, April 25, 2024
One of the most memorable speeches in my life was by a man named Dr. Benjamin Carson. Dr. Carson currently holds the office to the 17th Secretary of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. The interesting part of this story is not his accomplishments today, for he has many, but the story he tells of his mother Sonya. Sonya married at the age of thirteen only to have her husband abandon her soon thereafter. She had to work three domestic jobs and in the process, she never learned to read. Sonya demanded that both of her boys, Ben and Chris, check out a library book every week and they had to turn in a written book report to her at the end of that week. She would mark those book reports up even though she could not read, in order to show affi rmation to these boys she was raising. Dr. Carson explains how she “never wanted to hear any excuses because people who make excuses don’t know how to make solutions.”
Benjamin’s older brother turned out just fine. He became a nautical engineer and went on to Yale University. Benjamin was offered a full ride scholarship to Harvard and Yale, both coming out of the inner city of Detroit. He made his decision to which university he chose by which university would win the college bowl on academics that year. Yale ended up winning, so that is where he decided to go. Benjamin eventually came back to Michigan to fi nish medical school.
On June 19, 2008, President George W. Bush gave Dr. Benjamin Carson the highest award that our nation offers to any citizen which was the Medal of Freedom. Since this time, he has held over forty honorary doctorates, has had two schools named after him, and he has this to say about his accomplishments, “It is amazing what can happen when people believe that God can still do the impossible. You don’t have to understand a miracle; you just have to accept them.” What powerful words that were spoken from this neurosurgeon who came from the inner city of Detroit, raised by single mother of two.
I am so grateful that God does things in advance. God has always placed steps before us that sometimes we just can’t see. When we are determined to only live by sight, then we will probably never see them. Only those who live by faith can walk where angels fear to tread.
I am probably the worst at attempting to short circuit the will of God in my life. How has it worked for you in the past when you decided that you wanted to fi x that problem in your life by going outside the will of God? In Luke, chapter one, and angel of the Lord appeared to Mary and said you will soon carry a baby to full term and deliver to the world the Son of the living God. Mary asked God to explain how all of this was going to happen. God tried to explain it, but Mary didn’t understand. But in the end, she said to God that while I might not understand it all, I’m will be faithful to your calling on my life. The timing and the feelings might not be right, but I know that you are right, and I choose to go with you God.
Are we able to reinvest ourselves in a submissive heart before God? When God says that it’s going to happen in your life, you just need to be patient, are you willing to still trust that it will happen? It’s definitely not going to happen the way I envision it or maybe even according to my timeframe, but we have got to be convicted that God has a plan and is currently at work in your life. So, since God has been prepared before the creation of the world that man was going to need a little help, should we not also be prepared to help others? God says I know what these people are going to need, so I’m going to provide ahead of time, long before they even need it. Should that be our same attitude when it comes to helping others? “For God so loved the world that He gave up his only son…” (John 3:16).
This holiday season is a great opportunity to maybe help change the life of someone else in need. The harsh reality is that some will get an overabundance and there will be others who won’t have enough of what they need. Are we having these discussions with our families about possibly scaling back just a little this upcoming year so that we can help out those in need right here in our own community? You may only have prayers to offer up in support of another, so will you get down on your hands and knees and pray like there is no tomorrow? Some of us can fi nancially help, or maybe just spending your valuable time with someone, that might be your sacrifice to give. This is a great time for the local churches and our community to really pull together in what matters most and invest in what’s really going to make a diff erence.
No matter what struggle you may have this month, just know that God is greater than any problem you may have, and God has been prepared for this very moment in your life since the beginning of time. We must believe this and the world needs to hear it!
TACLA 24048E
E
