One summer morning as Ray Blankenship was preparing his breakfast, he gazed out the window and saw a small girl being swept along in a rain-flooded drainage ditch. Blankenship knew that farther downstream the ditch disappeared with a roar underneath a road, and then emptied into the main channel.
Ray dashed out the door and raced along the ditch, trying to get ahead of the floundering child. He hurled himself into the deep, churning water, and when he surfaced, was able to grasp her arm. They tumbled over and over until within about three feet of the deep drain, Ray’s free hand felt something—possibly a rock—protruding from the bank. He clung desperately as the tremendous force of the water tried to tear him and the child away. “If I can just hang on until help comes,” he thought. He did better than that. By the time the fire-department rescuers arrived, Blankenship had pulled the girl to safety. Both were treated for shock.
On April 12, 1989, Ray was awarded the Lifesaving Silver Medal by the US Coast Guard. The award is fitting, for this selfless person was at even greater risk to himself than most people knew…Ray can’t swim!
Lao Tzu said, “From caring comes courage.” I challenge you today, BE COURAGEOUS—put on the hero’s courage! What is the hero’s courage? It is knowing that you have the power to help someone else—and you have the power, or the courage to care. It is the fuel that makes a hero!
What does offering help to someone else provide? Does it provide a sense of personal fulfillment? Or perhaps a reminder that your situation may not be all that bad?
I often tell people that when you help someone else, you sense the presence of God helping people, and this in turn is a reminder that God will help you. I recently received a letter from someone who took this to heart. She said:
“Thank you for your message about helping somebody else when you’re going through personal problems. My younger brother is dying of brain cancer. For much of his life he has been homeless and battling alcoholism. My other sister was too drunk to properly care for him or even to talk to the hospital about his needs. But, today I went on visitations for my sidewalk Sunday school and I was able to pray with a mom that has been fighting depression. Seeing the kids excited about Sunday school tomorrow brought me true joy. It’s so true when you’re going through something, reach out to somebody else and that’s where you find God’s strength.”
What giants are you facing in life today? Remember that as you get busy helping others, you will find the strength to defeat seemingly insurmountable problems. Maya Angelou said, “When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.”
Remember, helpers need wisdom, strength and resource. God promises an abundant supply for those who are willing to go the extra mile. The scripture says, “Give and it shall be given back to you, good measure pressed down and shaken together! With the same measure you give it shall be given back to you!”
Let’s get busy helping someone today. When you add great value to someone else’s life, you will recognize just how valuable you really are!
Scripture: Luke 6:38
Four things happen when I solve problems for others:
First, I recognize that I have the ability to provide solutions.
Second, this instills a confidence which inspires me to resolve my own difficulties.
Third, I recognize that I can believe in myself because there is someone greater that also believes in me.
Lastly, my victories often open doors of victory for others.
Remember, when facing personal difficulties, you have a teammate. So, don’t be self-centered about the problems that others face. Gordon Hinckley said, “…the most miserable people I know are those who are obsessed with themselves…if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”
Have you thought about the importance of instilling vision in others? Let’s look briefly at three words: Magnetic, Magnanimous & Majestic.
Is your vision MAGNETIC? Is it attracting interest from others? Is it drawing resources to you? Regardless of your socioeconomic status, the world around you has extra resources looking to be employed, and your vision will provide a road map for resources and people to travel along! Ask yourself, “What am I attracting to my vision? Is it what I want? What I am expecting?”
The second word is MAGNANIMOUS – Are you generous of spirit? It will take quite a bit of generosity of spirit, time and talent to get you to your destination. The word ‘magnanimous’ means to be royal in nature, noble in character, capable of gracious behavior. Are you forgiving, charitable? Learn to think like nobility. You will need these characteristics when friends, family and those you have trusted fail you on the pathway to your dream! The result of being magnanimous is that you won’t sweat the small stuff. That’s what happens when you know who you are and when you know where you are headed! You are made for royalty! For destiny!
MAJESTIC—is your dream memorable? What value will it add to society and others? Is it quantifiable? What great results do you anticipate? How many people will you help? How much income will it generate? What great issue in society are you addressing? http://bit.ly/1Eyv40n
Hours before the opening night of a large mass miracle meeting in Africa, the evangelists we were told by the organizers, “Don’t expect to start on time! Here in Africa the opening night is just a test run where we work out our problems.”
Can you imagine? 75,000 people are preparing to gather. People are already standing on the field hours before the meetings are to begin! Yet, the expectation of a group of adult men was – ‘don’t worry if we don’t start on time, we never do!’ In other words, failure is acceptable!
Ask yourself a simple question: Where have I set the standard for my life? Is failure my expectation, or is overcoming the impossible where I set my goal in life?
How would you handle a situation like this if in one hour you were to address this crowd, and you had no lights and no sound? Action was required, so the 30 organizers were fired, and forty 14-year-old male volunteers were recruited from the crowd. Why? They had not yet experienced failure! They would climb where no one else would climb, lifting lights and scaling poles! Are you willing to scale insurmountable odds?
If those 40 boys had not stepped to the line, what would have happened that night? 75,000 people who came looking for hope, searching for a miracle, and expecting good news would have left disappointed! http://bit.ly/1NAmfV0
Quote: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” – Albert Einstein
How do you overcome apathy? First we have to understand it! What is apathy?
They observe but do not act.
They know but they do not care.
They hear but they do not respond.
They think of themselves rather than thinking of others.
Are YOU a part of the collective ‘THEY?’ Helen Keller said, “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings”.
How many destinies can be changed when we emerge from apathy to action? Consider it: wherever you are today, you have power to initiate change! It does not matter your sex, age, or culture!
Just as Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Helen Keller overcame apathetic concern for their causes, you and I can discover renewed hope and expectation! Why wait? Let’s do it now! http://bit.ly/1NvFLQy
As a young woman Mother Theresa, who was suffering from tuberculosis, heard the “call within the call” and knew she was to leave the convent in Calcutta and work with the poor living among them. With only 5 Rupees in her hand, she started a school in the slums to teach the children of the poor. Mother Theresa, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and India’s highest Civilian Award, Bharat Ratnanow, set up nearly 570 homes for the poor in 125 countries.
Like Mother Theresa – ONE IDEA – ONE THOUGHT from God can bring significant change, not only to your life but to the lives of those you know in your community and in your nation!
When we are facing life’s deepest tragedies and our most serious personal problems, often the thing we need the most is to hear the voice of someone else who is asking for help! Have you heard that voice?
Ask yourself this question: Who needs help in my community? YOU can become a modern day missionary of Good News! You can overcome the hardships of life! You can rise above poverty like Mother Theresa who had only 5 Rupees and was sick with tuberculosis, yet made a better life for millions of people!
Scripture: Romans 10:15
http://bit.ly/1E0i6YV
Quote: “Positive anything is better than negative nothing.” – Elbert Hubbard
Martin Luther King said, “In the end we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends.”
Nothing is more deafening than silence when people turn an apathetic eye towards humanity. But you and I can make a difference in our world. Your actions count! Today let’s make a decision to help someone we know, someone trapped by tragedy, poverty or hopelessness without life.
