Surviving or Thriving?

A young man, who had worked for years on the railroad, wanted a job as a signalman for the railroad. For his interview, he was told to meet the inspector at the signal box. The inspector asked him, "What would you do if you realized that two trains were heading toward each other on the same track?" The young man said, "That’s easy. I would switch the points for one of the trains." "The inspector then asked, "What if the lever broke?" The young man said, "Then I’d jump down out of the signal box and I’d use the manual lever over there." Next, the inspector said, "What if the lever had been struck by lightning?" The young man said, "Then, I would run to the signal box and phone the next signal box to let them know what was happening." The inspector continued on, "What if the phone was busy?" The young man said, "Well, in that case, I would rush down out of the signal box and use the public emergency phone at the crossing up there." Then, the inspector said, "What would you do if the public emergency phone had been vandalized?" The young man said, "Oh, well, then I would run into town and get my uncle." That answer puzzled the inspector. So, he asked, "Why would you go get your uncle?" The young man answered, "That’s simple. He’s never seen a train crash before."

It’s very easy to feel like your life is headed toward a crash. The crash may be a personality crash in a marriage or at work. The crash may be a financial crash or an employment crash. Whatever it is, life seems to have come unglued and untracked. However, it doesn’t need to remain that way. You can have some control in your life. There is hope in Christ Jesus our Lord! Jesus gave us an example of a man who must have felt the same way as many of us, but who had his life turned around by the power of Jesus Christ. In this passage, Jesus showed us how one man’s life was miraculously changed when he encountered Jesus.

And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out and say, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” And many rebuked him, telling him to be silent. But he cried out all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!” And Jesus stopped and said, “Call him.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart. Get up; he is calling you.” And throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. And Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” And the blind man said to him, “Rabbi, let me recover my sight.” And Jesus said to him, “Go your way; your faith has made you well.” And immediately he recovered his sight and followed him on the way. (Mark 10:46-52 ESV).

In the next few days we’ll look at some of the practical things Jesus did and taught to help us thrive instead of simply survive. There are three things we’ll explore in the coming mornings.

The first of these is that we must learn to makes the most of the opportunities God provides for us. Do you recognize the name Levi Strauss? His name has become a household name today. However, his name is not known the way he wanted it to be known. Like many other men in the 1840s and 50s, Levi Strauss went to California in hopes of making his fortune. He went to California to look for gold. He did make a fortune, but not the way he had planned. Strauss left his home with a load of heavy canvas fabric. He planned to sell his fabric for tents and wagon covers. When he set up his place of business, the first miner who came in said, "You should have brought pants." Strauss, who had been in California for only a few days, had no idea what the miner meant. So, the miner explained to him that there weren’t any pants strong enough to endure the arduous conditions of mining. He immediately took the heavy canvas fabric that he had brought with him and made the miner a pair of work pants. Within days, Levi Strauss struck gold. Not the bright, shiny gold found in the ground or rivers, but the gold of opportunity. Today, his name has become a legend in the garment industry.

There’s an important truth that we must understand at this point. Opportunities only become realities when we embrace them. God may offer and offer something to us; however, if we refuse to accept it, the opportunity will be missed. An opportunity must be seized, grabbed, accepted, taken. Bartimaeus accepted the opportunity that was presented by Jesus. How about you? This really is the first step to move from merely surviving to thriving!