SEPTEMBER 1, 2024

  “Ted Engstrom insightfully writes: “Cripple him, and you have a Sir Walter Scott. Lock him in a prison cell, and you have a John Bunyan. Bury him in the snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes Franklin Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he'll never walk again, and you have a Glenn Cunningham -- who set the world's one mile record in 1934. Deafen him and you have a Ludwig van Beethoven. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have a Booker T. Washington, a Marian Anderson, a George Washington Carver. Call him a slow learner, "retarded," and write him off as uneducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.” 

― Charles R. Swindoll, The Quest for Character/Improving Your serve/Strengthening Your Grip

PSALM 148-150

4For the Lord takes delight in his people;

he crowns the humble with victory.

5Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor

and sing for joy on their beds. (149:4-5 )

1 CORINTHIANS 11:16-34

23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 

JOURNAL 

Ted Engstrom insightfully observed that history’s greatest figures were often forged in trial: The truth in these words is hard to ignore, suffering can either defeat us or shape us. But staying in the present moment, instead of wishing away pain or overplanning the future, is where the battle is fought. Scripture reminds us that God does not abandon us in weakness but actually delights in crowning the humble with victory: “For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds” (Psalm 149:4-5).

Yet discipline is required to keep faith alive. My natural tendency is to lean on myself, my plans, or the people around me, especially under stress. But if my habits are rooted in God, my instinct will be to turn to Him. It’s not a “grit and bear it” religion, it is the joy of knowing that Christ Himself set the pattern for us. At the table with His disciples, even on the night He was betrayed, He broke bread and said: “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me… This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:23–25).

Faith, then, is not a fleeting feeling. It is a discipline and a trust that runs deeper than circumstances. It is joy in sorrow, hope in loss, and humility in triumph. Jesus declared blessings over the broken, the hungry, the meek, and the persecuted (Matthew 5:3–10). These words remind me that living in the now, no matter how fragile or difficult, is not wasted, it is where the Kingdom of God breaks in.

So today, Faith in the moment is the challenge. Not because it is easy, but because in every trial and every blessing, God is present, and that constant presence is enough.

3“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

5Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

6Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

7Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

8Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

9Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called children of God.

10Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

MATTHEW 5:3-10