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Yesterday we talked about fears that cause us to lack trust. Today I want to share how I faced and overcame my deeply buried fear (terror) and learned to trust and love again.

''Tony Campolo tells of preaching a really good sermon in his preaching class in seminary. Campolo felt pretty proud of his outline, his arguments, and his delivery. He felt pretty proud of himself—until he read his professor's comments at the bottom of the page: 'You can't convince people that Jesus is wonderful and you're wonderful in the same sermon.'''

A Native American boy was talking with his grandfather. "What do you think about the world situation?" he asked. The grandfather replied, "I feel like two wolves are fighting in my heart. One is full of anger and hatred. The other is full of love, forgiveness and peace."

Someone else said with tongue-in-cheek, "Heaven help your neighbor if you hate yourself!" They were right.

"I know what makes him tick, and I know what ticks him off!" These were the words of a speaker I heard when talking about her relationship with her husband—with whom, by the way, she had a very good relationship.

"Tony Campolo tells of preaching a really good sermon in his preaching class in seminary. Campolo felt pretty proud of his outline, his arguments, and his delivery. He felt pretty proud of himself—until he read his professor's comments at the bottom of the page: 'You can't convince people that Jesus is wonderful and you're wonderful in the same sermon.'"2

From my youth up I have believed that people who have never accepted Jesus as their Savior and have had their sins forgiven by God, according to God's Word, the Bible, will be lost and without hope for all eternity. Because of this belief I have done my best to do something about this calamity.

Most people are aware of who Moses was—the leader of the ancient Israelites who, when leading this young nation out of slavery in Egypt, faced many a battle when conquering the Promised Land given to them by God. In one battle God told Moses that as long as he held his hands heavenward, God would give the Israelites victory over the enemy. If he lowered his hands, the enemy would gain the upper hand.

A Daily Encounter reader writes, "As a Christian I try to flee from sin because I don't want to displease God and I don't want to suffer the consequences. However, I am repeatedly reminded that I am not perfect and that I cannot live up to God's standards.

The story or legend is told how two monks, when traveling back to their monastery in inclement weather, came to the fjord of a river. There they met a young woman who was afraid to cross the river. Seeing her dilemma one of the monks offered to carry her across the river on his back which offer she accepted.

Robert Schuller shares the wonderful story about Olympic champion, Charlie Paddock who loved to speak to young people in high schools. At East Tech High School in Cleveland, Ohio, he challenged those young people: "If you think you can, you can! If you believe something strongly enough, it will come to pass in your life." Afterward he lifted his hand and said, "Who knows? Maybe there's an Olympic champion in this auditorium this afternoon."

"When things go wrong as they sometimes will, And the road you're trudging seems all uphill, When funds are low, and debts are high, You want to smile but you have to cry...." I'm sure most of us have felt this way on more than one occasion. I surely have. However, if we hang in and trust God he will, in all things, work for the good for

Some of us get discouraged because we don't feel that we are very gifted and don't have a lot to offer God in service to him. John Warr could have said to himself, "I'm just a shoemaker and don't have much to offer God." But he didn't. He just wanted God to use him and made himself available.

You may have read how "when Sadhu Sundar Singh and a companion were traveling through a pass high in the Himalayan Mountains. At one point they came across a body lying in the snow. Sundar Singh wished to stop and help the unfortunate man, but his companion refused, saying, 'We shall lose our lives if we burden ourselves with him.'

One of the great principles we need to emphasize to keep ourselves and our society healthy and productive is the principle of personal responsibility. It's a principle that needs, through repetition, to be programmed into our belief system. It needs to be taught and demonstrated in the home and at every level of society—including among the highest business and political leaders in our communities and nation.

In his book, Empires of the Mind, Dennis Waitley shared how "in the 1920s, when Ernest Hemingway was working hard to perfect his craft, he lost a suitcase containing all his manuscripts—many stories he'd laboriously polished to jewel-like perfection—which he'd been planning to publish in a book.

When Mark coached at a gym where several world-class gymnasts worked out, he said Cindy was the most important person in the gym. Cindy wasn't the best athlete—not even close. But when she was in the gym, everyone whined and complained less, worked harder and achieved more. She brought out the best in everyone. You see, Cindy was blind.

A Native American boy was talking with his grandfather. "What do you think about the world situation?" he asked. The grandfather replied, "I feel like two wolves are fighting in my heart. One is full of anger and hatred. The other is full of love, forgiveness and peace."

Your test seems to indicate that you have some buried anger," said the counselor to his client. "Do you think this could be true?" he asked. "Me! Angry? Certainly not," replied the client. "I'll punch you in the nose for saying that!"

In a Reader' Digest article, author Robert Fulghum tells about "an international chess competition many years ago in which a man named Frank Marshall made what is often called the most beautiful move ever made on a chessboard. Playing against an equally skilled Russian master, Marshall sacrificed his queen in an unthinkable move—a move to be made only in the most desperate of circumstances. But it turned out to be a brilliant move, so brilliant that the Russian conceded the game.

I read a few years ago the story of a 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

A Daily Encounter reader asks, "Can you explain why I feel so miserable, guilty, and unhappy for not keeping my promise to God to quit smoking? I feel he is punishing me for failing and for breaking my promise."

A Daily Encounter reader writes, "After many years of counseling and prayer for help, my brother who has been a Christian for many years can't seem to let go of his emotional problems and failures. Is there anything I can say to help him forgive himself? What might be holding him back from finding healing and freedom?"

Last year we had the opportunity to have a vacation in Hawaii where, of course, there are many beautiful beaches. At one particular picturesque beach where the grandkids were snorkeling, close by was a rocky section. Here was a warning sign painted with large bold red lettering that simply said, "Dangerous beach. When in doubt, don't."

The ants teach us the wisdom of preparation. "Better to be prepared and not called, than to be called and not prepared," is a wise principle to adhere to. For instance, if I want a good job in the future, I need to prepare today. If I want a healthy marriage, I need to work on my growth and maturity today, for only mature people have mature relationships. And if I want God to use me, I need to develop the gifts and talents he has given me.