Day 161: Welcome To The School Of Hard Knocks
Read: Isaiah 59:1 - 2
Many were the days as a young boy when I found myself slowly
walking along the street where I lived kicking a tin can. The can would fly
through the air, bounce on the pavement, scrape along the curb, and before very
long it became a much abused and battered object of ill treatment. I look back
and wonder now just what it was the neighbors thought from behind their windows
as they undoubtedly heard the rattle of this can and the heart behind the foot
that was kicking it. This battered can reminds me now of what life can
sometimes become. It does not necessarily limit itself to the little boy with
the can, but can also rudely intrude and insinuate its way into you too. Are
there no exemptions to be had or bought?
It is a sad, unfortunate truth of our existence that life
will be filled with hard knocks. Some people wonder if they are magnets for
this stuff. Some people want to make more magnets for this stuff. Some people
find themselves smarter than the average PhD because as they'll tell you:
"I got a PhD in life from the Harvard of Hard Knocks." You do not
have to go very far to find the truth behind such a statement. Much of the news
in the daily paper involves tragedy for someone. Murder, fatal accidents, heart
attacks, deaths from natural causes, are hard lessons in hard knocks. The paper
tells of property loss by fire, everyday people, with absolutely no warning are suddenly finding
themselves being thrown back to school.
We are not very old before we learn that no one is exempt
from hard knocks. Just look at the images of wounded service members and the
families of those wounded service members. Normal life is suddenly, radically
and forever changed by their trip to the school of hard knocks. Why do hard
knocks come? The short answer is "who knows - fate? Fortune? Conspiracy? Duty,
Honor, Country? Our Magnetic Personalities? I do not pretend to know why the
halls of this school never seem to be empty. I do not specifically even remember being invited to attend anyone's
prom or their graduation. But, what about the Lord? The logical question now
becomes: What about the out stretched hand of ABBA, Father God?
Long ago, Isaiah the prophet wrote 59:1-2, “Behold, the
Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, neither His ear heavy that it
cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and
your sins have hid his face from you that He will not hear.” When God chooses
not hear, that is the hardest of all hard knocks. God will not hear as long as
sin is tucked away in some secret part of the heart. Not to have God on your
side, is a rather significant hard knock. Sin brings hard knocks. What shall we do when they come? Shall we just grin and bear
it? Shall we all rebel against God? Shall we all withdraw into our shell and
let the rest of the world go by? Yes friends, What shall we do indeed?
Let Us Pray: Father, when life seems to throw us a curve,
when the hardness of life sends us back to school, when we are unsettled, upset
and unnerved. I pray for your wisdom to carry us through, when life is the
hardest and when times are good. ABBA Father, there is never a good time for
sorrow, Or the pain of uncertainty that comes with tomorrow. I pray for your
goodness to see us all through, I pray for our Savior to carry us through, I
pray your Spirit to heal us and comfort us all the way through.
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