Tom Landry, the late head coach
of the Dallas Cowboys, was once quoted as saying something like this:
Coach Landry, in that seemingly
contradictory statement, described what discipline is all about…doing what we
don't want to do so we can accomplish what we've always wanted.
"I have a job to do that is
not very complicated, but it is often difficult: to get a group of men to do
what they don't want to do so they can achieve the one thing they have wanted
all their lives."
Coach Landry, in that seemingly
contradictory statement, described what discipline is all about…doing what we
don't want to do so we can accomplish what we've always wanted.
So much of what results in a
fulfilled life is really the product of a contradiction. Those who wish to be
the best leaders must demonstrate true servant-hood. Those who ultimately are
given the oversight of vast regions and broad responsibilities have initially
proven themselves faithful in the little things. The most effective form of
retaliation is an absence of retaliation . . . leaving all vengeance to God. In
doing so, to quote the Scriptures, we "heap burning coals upon the
head" of an adversary, which is nothing more than overcoming evil with
good—another contradictory truth.
Want a few more?
The way to show yourself wise is
not so much by speech but by silence.
The way to stop a loud argument
is by a soft-spoken word. The most powerful rebuke is not a loud, negative
blast, but a quiet, positive model.
The secret of helping others
mature is not more rules and stricter laws but greater trust.
Those who are most respected for
their knowledge and the skill of drawing others into it are not those who have
all the right answers but rather those who ask the right questions.
Those who give generously have
much more than those who hoard.
One lovely flower, personally
picked from the garden by tiny hands, can mean much more than two dozen
long-stemmed roses ordered from the florist.
A handwritten note of love and
affection lingers longer in one's memory than a $3.50 embossed card from
Hallmark.
Forgiveness is the key to
handling our enemies, not revenge.
A brief, warm, tender embrace
with very few words says more to the grieving than an evening's visit full of
sympathy talk and long prayers.
Funny, isn't it? God often
delivers His best gifts to us through the back door of our lives. In unexpected
ways…with surprises inside the wrappings. Somewhat like the therapy He used
when Elijah was so low, so terribly disillusioned.
How did the Lord minister to him?
By an earthquake? In a whirlwind? Through a scorching fire? You'd expect all
the above since Elijah was such a passionate, hard-charging prophet. But no.
The story from 1 Kings 19 makes it clear that Jehovah was not in the earthquake
or the wind or the fire. Too obvious. Too predictable. That's not the
Sovereign's style.
After all the hullabaloo died
down, there came "a gentle blowing" and shortly thereafter, ever so
softly, "a voice" came to him (vv. 12–13) with words of reassurance
and affirmation. Not, "You oughta be ashamed of yourself!" Or
"What's a man of your stature doing in a crummy place like this?"
None of that. No blame, no shame, no sermon, no name-calling, no blistering
rebuke.
In contradiction to the popular
idea of confrontation (and surely surprising to Elijah himself), the Lord
encouraged His friend to go on from there. He gave him a plan to follow, a
promise to remember, and a traveling companion to help him make it through the
night.
Another mysterious back-door
delivery . . . another victim of despair rescued from the pit. No wonder Paul
burst forth in praise of God's wisdom and knowledge by exclaiming:
How unsearchable are His
judgments . . . [how] unfathomable His ways! (Romans 11:33b)
About the time we think we've got
the whole picture in finite focus, an infinite hand quickly grabs the camera,
changes lenses on us, points in another direction, and has us take an entirely
different picture. Yet to our amazement, when everything is developed, we get
the one thing we wanted all our lives through a process we would never have
chosen.
It's like the anonymous poet's
profound admission:
I asked God for strength, that I
might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might
learn to humbly obey.
I asked for health, that I might
do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I
might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might
be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might
be wise.
I asked for power, that I might
have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I
might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I
might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might
enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for,
But everything I had hoped for.
I am, among all men, most richly
blessed.
*** Copyright 2014 by Charles R.
Swindoll | Insight for Living Ministries ***
I hope you are blessed. Feel free
to share and leave your comments. May the grace of the Lord be with you.
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