At certain epochs in human history, individuals of character and resolve have been forged in the furnace of adversity and formed on the anvil of life’s reproofs. Pick up a biography of some Christian hero or heroine of the past and read about their journey of life. If it’s a worthwhile biography, the story will paint both the glorious and the ugly. It will record both the triumphant successes and absolute failures. For herein is life! Herein is what all mankind faces day in and day out. A family favorite of ours, Rev. Ron Dunn, once said, “Good and bad travel along parallel tracks and they arrive about the same time.” This is so true! Life isn’t a glory bubble or bed of roses. There might be times of serenity but more frequently, there will be those consistent struggles and problems. Each one of us have to make the choice –will we step into life boldly or run from the trials? Will we prepare or dread? Will we believe or fear? Will we act or stand passive?

One of my heroes in history is Theodore Roosevelt. He is one of those individuals who went through adversity and life’s reproofs and then came out the other side stronger and wiser. Whether it was being the U.S. president, leading his wife and family of six children, or Calvary fighting in the War against Mexico, he was a man of principle, of character, and resolve. The following Roosevelt quote captures the essence of who this man was:

“It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena: whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood: who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again: who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion and spends himself in a worthy cause: who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement: and who, at the worst, if he fails at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

Now take this bold persevering spirit of Roosevelt and unite it with the response of another man from another time. His name is William Bradford. Bradford was one of two governors who led the Plymouth settlement during its beginning years. When traveling with the rest of the pilgrims on their initial journey across the Atlantic, he recorded several near death experiences. Once, the main mast of their ship cracked in the midst of a serious storm. At another time, waves would be crashing on the ship’s deck nearly sinking the boat. During this sea voyage, Bradford documented the response the travelers made to the trying circumstances facing them: “So they (the pilgrims) committed themselves to God and resolved to proceed”

Let it be declared that Bradford’s response must be ours as well. Christ said, “Come unto me all ye that are heavily laden and l will give you rest.” This beckoning from our Master and the resulting promise doesn’t mean that by us coming to Christ we won’t have to suffer, labor, and courageously act. Rather it means we can have confidence and stability in Christ while pressing through the challenges of life. In other words, after committing ourselves to God we may step with resolution into the drama of life and still have eternal inner tranquility. Those dragons of life will come. The behemoths of trials will arise. Yet they will also be slain. Not by our prowess or ability but by God using them to forge and form us into the glorious likeness of His dear Son.

Some day we’ll be looking back at our lives. The future will be short, our past quite long, and the present faster then ever. Only time will tell what perspective each of us will have. Our prayer should be that it will consist of Roosevelt’s perseverance, our Pilgrim fathers’ commitment to God, and a resting in the lasting tranquility of our Dear Redeemer; so that our “…place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

This entry was posted on Friday, January 6th, 2012 at 4:33 pm and is filed under HIS-story, Proclaiming the Truth. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.