The Hare and the Tortoise

The Hare once boasted of his speed before the other animals. “I have never yet been beaten,” said he, “when I put forth my full speed. I challenge any one here to race with me.”

The Tortoise said, “I accept your challenge.”

“That is a good joke,” said the Hare; “I could dance round you all the way.”

“Keep your boasting till you’ve beaten,” answered the Tortoise.

“Shall we race?”

So a course was fixed and a start was made.  The Hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon stopped, and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap.  The Tortoise plodded on and plodded on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winning-post and could not run up in time to save the race.

Then said the Tortoise: “Plodding wins the race.”

In the race that the Christian runs it is perseverance and not speed that will win the victor’s crown! —Glenn Hitchcock 

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1).

Making Waves

One way God disciplines His children is by allowing troubles in their lives (Hebrews 12:7).

It is like the little boy who was playing with his toy boat on the pond when it suddenly floated out of reach toward the middle of the pond, as the boy stood on the shore in tears. A passerby saw what was happening and walked over and started throwing rocks at the boat. The boy said, “Pease stop, mister! You’ll break it.” But the man kept throwing.

Gradually the boy noticed that his boat was floating back to him! He realized that the man was not throwing rocks at his boat, but just past it—and the ripples the rocks created were driving his boat back to him. The waves were bringing the boat safely to shore.

It’s the same way in life. Sometimes we start to drift out of God’s will, and he allows some waves—some negative circumstances—to enter our life and get our attention. The waves are not to destroy us, but to draw us back safely to him.

“No chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby” (Hebrews 12:11). —Bill Ray

Thanksgiving

2 Corinthians 9:15, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.”

  • Attitude of my Gratitude: “Thanks.”
  • Object of my Gratitude: “Be unto God.”
  • Reason for my Gratitude: “for His unspeakable gift.”  —Glenn Posey

Through, Not To

The fault of life is treating things as final which are not final. What if a man journeying home found a nice inn on the road, and liking it, were to stay forever at the inn? Man, thou hast forgotten thine object. The journey is not to this, but through this.

“To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4).

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
(Visited 743 times, 1 visits today)

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here