Bring it on!

Three times I was beaten . . . ; three times  I  was shipwrecked; . . . in perils . . . , in weariness and toil, . . . in hunger and thirst.      — 2 Corinthians 11:25-27

A TV program on the History Channel featured the world’s most extreme airports. The one that caught my attention is no longer open, but it is one I had flown into. I agree that Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport was definitely a thrill ride for passengers and surely a challenge for pilots. If you came in from one direction, you had to fly over skyscrapers and then hope the plane stopped before it plunged into the sea. If you came in the other way, it seemed as if you were going to smack into a mountain.

I found it surprising that a pilot who used to take planeloads of people into Kai Tak said, “I miss flying into that airport.” But I think I know what he meant. As a pilot, he relished the challenge. He had a confidence based on his ability and his reliance on those who guided him into the airport.

Too often, we run from challenges. Yet the people we love to read about in the Bible are impressive because they battled challenges. Consider Paul. With the confidence of God’s help, he faced troubles head-on — and conquered them. Christ’s promise to Paul and to us is: “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor. 12:9). Like Paul’s example, in the confidence of God’s care we can say to the next challenge: Bring it on!             — Dave Branon

I do not ask for easy paths

Along life’s winding roads,

But for the promised grace and strength

To carry all its loads. — Meadows

Read: 2 Corinthians 11:22–12:10

If God sends you on stony paths,

He will provide you with strong shoes.