“For whoever wants to save his own life will destroy it, but whoever destroys his life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will save it.”  Mark 8:35

I believe that the message in this selection offers us both challenge and encouragement and hope.  It challenges our very nature.  Few of us want to rely on another in our lives, we will do most anything so that we do not give up control.  Am I right?

I know for me, I find it difficult to ask for help, to not be in control of what is going on around me, to have a plan to deal with what ever might be going on in my life, and my son can be the same way.  I remember when he was very young, he had a Thomas the Tank Engine and the wooden track it would go around on.  One of the very first times we got the track out and he was trying to put something together, he didn’t want any help.  When I offered, he got very frustrated and told me, “No daddy, I want to do it myself.”  After continuing to struggle for some time trying to get the track to come together in a continuous “loop”, he came to me with a piece of track in each hand, lifted them up and asked for help. 

That is the challenge, in our lives and in this world, we face constant struggles.  We face circumstances we cannot handle on our own but yet because we are Stubborn McStubbornson we refuse to ask for help even though, and here is the encouragement and hope, God is waiting to step in, to intercede on our behalf, we simply must admit that we cannot do it, we cannot face it, we cannot handle it on our own.  That we just cannot get our track to come together on our own.  When we submit our lives to God, we begin to know the comfort of that presence, that even when we face difficult times, when our track just won’t quite line up, God is present there with us.

I would encourage you to take a look at what’s going on in your life in this moment and rather than shutting God out, ask that you know that presence.  Bring those two pieces of track, holding them up, asking for help, and simply submit to the presence and power of God

Prayer: “Lord, I know you are there, you are present always, simply waiting to hear my call to you.  Grant me the courage to submit my problems and my whole life to you.  Hold me firmly and guide me gently in your will and in your ways.  Amen”