HOW TO CONQUER YOUR CONFUSIONS (No. 2 in Series)

(New thoughts are added each Monday and Thursday)

In Mexico City, in 1968, out of cold darkness that had descended, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania staggered into the Olympic Stadium, his leg bloody and bandaged. The winner of the Olympic marathon had been declared well over an hour earlier. But the lone runner pressed on. As he finally crossed the finish line, the now small crowd roared. When asked by a reporter why he hadn’t quit, he replied, “My country did not send me to Mexico City to start the race. They sent me to finish it.”

In the race of life stumbling comes easy, even to the point of falling. Facing this inevitability is important. But then comes the challenge of giving in or praying up, of becoming victims of other people’s bitter attitudes or rewarding ourselves by hungering after God and the best with us.

Charles Darwin in his book, Life and Letters, describes years of self inflicted pain. In his younger days he loved music, art and literature and took such great delight in their pursuit. He then writes of how his one-sided concentration on scientific calculations caused him to reach a point where he could not endure one line of poetry. Where even Shakespeare became nauseatingly dull.

It happens. Multiplying our possession while reducing our values. Traveling around the world while ignoring our neighbor next door. Conquering outer space but not the inner space of our souls.

It doesn’t have to be. The Bible tells us how to keep it from happening. Prayer…persistent, sincere. “Ask and it shall be given unto you, seek and ye shall find.” Dial Heaven is one way of putting it. Worship…letting go and letting God. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and soul, and strength, and mind.” Good works…decent deeds. “Show me thy works, and I will show you your faith.” A good place to start conquering confusion is not believing everything the newspapers have to say and stop questioning what the Bible has to say.