F4S: Why strive when you can abide? In the Son. Why work all alone -- that can be so stressful.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Why strive when you can abide? In the Son. Why work all alone -- that can be so stressful.

Are you feelin' pressed, stressed, or blessed? Man, why go it alone? 

Stress can come from many things and you know too much can kill ya. I want you healthy -- too blessed to be stressed. Q. What can add to it inside you? A. Sometimes too much of a good thing. Who needs any bonus stress? If you don’t take care of that body you're in, then where will you live? Perhaps ya say, ‘Well, I’ll go live in heaven knowing Jesus.’ Primo choice and a Wonderful Friend for sure.. but if you don’t begin to take care of that body He gave ya.. it’ll be hell gettin’ there, dude. Kinda right: Stresed spelled backwards is deserts. But stress can come from striving all alone outside the will of God. Why strive, when you can abide?

In filing an insurance claim, a man found the company needed more information and wrote this letter:
Dear Sir:
I am writing in response to your request for additional information for my insurance claim. In block number three of the accident claim form I wrote, “trying to do the job alone” as the cause of my accident. You said in your letter that I should explain that statement more fully. I trust the following details will be sufficient.
I am a bricklayer by trade. On the date of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work I discovered that I had about 500 pounds of brick left over. Rather than carrying the bricks down by hand, I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley which was attached to the side of the building at the sixth-floor level.
Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out, and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went back to the ground and untied the rope, holding it tightly to insure a slow descent of the 500 pounds of bricks. You will note in block number 22 of the claim form that my weight is 150 pounds.
Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded up the side of the building at a very rapid rate of speed.
In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming down. This explains my fractured skull and collarbone. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley.
By this time, I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope in spite of my pain. At approximately the same time however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel then weighed approximately 50 pounds.
I refer you again to the information in block number 11 regarding my weight. As you might imagine, I began a rapid descent down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles and the lacerations of my legs and lower body.
This second encounter with the barrel slowed me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell onto the pile of bricks, and fortunately, only three vertebrae were cracked.
I am sorry to report, however, that as I lay there on the bricks in pain, unable to stand, and watching the empty barrel six stories above me, I again lost my presence of mind, and let go of the rope. The empty barrel weighed more than the rope so it came down upon me and broke both of my legs.
I hope I have furnished information sufficient to explain why “trying to do the job alone” was the stated cause of the accident.
Reading in the Bible I see some edifying words, “But in my distress I cried out to the Lord; yes, I prayed to my God for help. He heard me from his sanctuary; my cry to him reached his ears.” Psalm 18:6
It's a good day to pray with the right address attached. To the Father God in the Name of His Son, Jesus. God allows some challenging circumstances into my life, some options too, and presses me to Himself. The greater the pressure I daily feel, the greater my daily dependence upon the word I should have and exhibit.