Monday, May 9, 2016
“Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be
made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your
hearts and minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Hey Gang My dad was a coal
miner. We lived in the back country of Pennsylvania. Some say we lived so
far back in the sticks that even the hoot-owls carried knapsacks and they had
to pump sunshine to us. We were as poor as church mice so a trip to store
to purchase new threads was an annual event. But this year’s trip
was to result in nearly tragic overtones.
The mine owner had recently installed
a large auger machine that took the pick and shovels out of the hands of the
miners and placed it in this wonderful new device. A brand spanking
new machine that made life oh-so-much easier for the miners. Add to this our
yearly trip to town-store for a new pair of overalls in the same week.
Wow, life seemed so much brighter!
And then it happened. As Dad was
standing near the machine, the machine hit a rock that kicked the machine back
several feet and Dad’s brand new coveralls got caught in the cogs of the
machine - which began to pull him towards the digger part of the machine.
If the machine would have continued unabated, he would have been crushed.
A t that moment a God-thing happened!
One of the supervisors, who wanted to see the machine in operation, decided
that was the moment he would visit the work-site. When he saw what was
happening, he immediately recognized that within minutes Dad would have been
crushed. There happened to be an iron bar leaning on the cave wall. He picked
up and shoved it into the cogs, immediately shutting the machine down.
Shutting the engine down would not
have saved my dad’s life; it took several minutes after cutting power for the
machine to totally shut down. The iron pick stopped the cogs
immediately! I remember them bringing Dad into the house on a litter and
then the months of rehab that followed. I also remember that my life
changed, for even though my Dad recovered physically, he never recovered
mentally from that terrifying experience, and we soon left the mountains and
moved into the city. ( The material of the old coveralls would have torn
away.)
Mining has always been a very
dangerous occupation and there was always a constant element of fear in the
air. Mining accidents are not rare and, in most cases, there are injuries
and death. For several years after Dad’s accident, I would have dreams
that a gigantic ball was always rolling after me and trying to crush me.
I never told anyone about these
nightmares because I did not want to add additional burdens to my Mom and Dad,
who were in the recovery mode from dad’s accident.
So why am I telling you all of
this? Because fear is like a cancer and eats the very heart out of your
soul. In my growing up years, fear was a driving force in my
life. And it remained that way until one day when I read these words from
Mark 4:40: “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
For the first time in my life I realized that I was the cause of my fear,
and that fear was a faith issue.
Now hear this old duffer: I have
received literally hundreds of messages over the airways and not a single one
is telling e we are going to have a wonderful year filed with victories over
the evil one. I have also received many messages that the anxiety level
of many folks is very close to the red zone. Jesus said, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has
chosen gladly to give you the Kingdom” (Luke
12:32). God gave us this piece of assurance through His prophet Isaiah
when He said, “For I Am the Lord your God, who holds your right
hand. Who says to you, “DO NOT FEAR, I WILL HELP YOU.”
Keep in mind my young friends, the
victory is already ours because of the cross of Calvary! On the cross,
Jesus cried out, “It is finished”. Sooooo. Put
your hands in the hands of the One who stilled the waters.
Blessings, Gramps
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