Helpless

Perhaps you have been there -- you are driving along, watching carefully for obstacles, impediments, and the proverbial speed trap and bam! -- your blood pressure goes through the roof. Some careless driver, frequently talking on a cell phone, texting, or otherwise driving distracted enters your space and you trade paint, stories with the patrolman, and insurance information. You were helpless to avoid an accident, but thankful it was only the car damaged. Okay, the checkbook took a hit, but no one was hurt.

Sometimes I listen to the news, read a blog, or catch some thread of discussion from a friend and a helpless feeling overtakes me. I can't do anything about the weather: thunderstorms will ruin the best-laid golf plans. I can't do anything about the floods: my long anticipated vacation to Nashville has to be redesigned. I can't do anything about the economy: as I review my 401k; it reminds me of an iceberg, more under water than above. I can't do anything about the government: it appears as if elected officials stay awake at night thinking up ways to reward bad behavior at my expense. I can't do anything about the media: Hollywood continues to shape the thinking of a new generation, chipping away at an already eroded moral base while increasing its assault on God's Word. I can't do anything about the pace of technology: my computer, phone, DVD player, and television set all seem obsolete by the time I bring them home from the store.

Yes, I could succumb to a helpless feeling quite easily.

I may be helpless, but I am not hopeless. I am a Christian man who has the hope of heaven. I know for a fact that this earth will pass away, and I will be part of a new earth. I am a Christian man who belongs to a church. I know for a fact that no matter what the devil, the world, and sinful flesh can hurl at the walls of the church -- it will not fall. I am a Christian man who has power and influence over my family, friends, and neighbors. I know for a fact that when I speak the words of eternal life, they have power and can change lives through the work of the Holy Spirit. I am a Christian man who will continue to trust in an all-powerful, all-knowing, ever-present, and eternal Lord.

My hopefulness replaces my helplessness. Men, let's show the world our hopefulness.