Temple Baptist Life

I suppose all of us at some time or another get discouraged, or want to give up and quit. In the heat of a moment we’ll say, “I’ll just leave this job, this church, or this family, and they’ll miss me…they’ll wish they had treated me different!”

Ever felt like your life was the unluckiest of all? No matter what, the human spirit can be an amazing thing.  Take for example the case of Larry Hanratty, who was named by the Los Angeles Times in 2007 the unluckiest man in California. This poor man was nearly executed to death in a construction site accident. For weeks he was in a coma with his lawyers fighting for his liability claim until one of his lawyers was disbarred, two of them died suddenly and his last lawyer ran off with his wife! Then after his recovery in June, he was in a terrible car accident and before the police arrived on the scene, he was robbed of $55.00. On July 4th, his insurance company tried to stop his worker’s comp claim; he came within 2 days of being evicted from his home. By the end of July of 2007, he was suffering from lupus and the start of a lung condition that required him to carry a canister of oxygen with him; he was taking 42 pills a day for his heart condition and his liver aliments. Finally the City Council came to his aid and then his friends rallied around him. After all that had happened to Larry that year, he said to the Mayor of Whittier, There’s always hope!

Discouragement tends to send us inward and it cuts us off from others. Where does your discouragement come from?

From family or parents? Well, I have a word for you.
Colossians 3:21 Fathers do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

Maybe your body? Well I have a word for you
2 Corinthians 4:16 Be encouraged even though the outer man is perishing, the inward man is being renewed everyday.

Perhaps it’s your ministry? Well I have a word for you
2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore since we this ministry, do not lose heart.

Possibly a tough trial? Well I have a word for you
Ephesians 3:13 Do not lose heart because of trials and tribulations.

Feeling lonely and forgotten? Well I have a word for you
Jesus said, I will never leave you or forsake you.

Erma Bombeck for over 30 years wrote a popular column, published 15 books and appeared on Good Morning America all the time it seemed that she gave voice to the ordinary people in life. She once said, I speak at collages and tell everyone I’m up here not because of my successes but my failures. You see, I had a comedy album that only sold 2 copies in Beirut! A sitcom that lasted as long as a donut in a police station. A Broadway play that never saw Broadway. A book signing where I attracted only 2 people one who only wanted directions and the other wanted to by the desk I was sitting at. What you must always tell yourself is that – I’m not a failure, I only failed at doing something at that moment – there’s a big difference. Personally, it’s been a tuff road; I’ve buried babies, lost my parents, battled cancer and worried over my kids. The trick is to put it all into perspective and that’s what I do for a living.

Remember Larry who was named L.A. Times most unlucky man in 2007? Well let me finish telling you about him. Even though he was stricken in one year with very bad circumstances, that never stopped him from doing what he did best. You see he was a Deacon in his church and was constantly helping others in their time of need. Everywhere he went in his town he was known as HOPE because he always told everyone, “There’s always hope.”

On December 25, at 4:05 pm Larry died from liver complications. At his funeral there wasn’t room enough for all who wanted to pay respect to his life. He was more productive in the last year of his life, which was his most difficult. In 2007 it was estimated by his church, First Baptist Church, Whittier – he visited over 100 needy families, gave more hope to those shut in, and touched more lives with AIDS in the local Hospice where he volunteered every single week. On his tombstone it reads, There’s always hope.

My advice to anyone who wants to destroy discouragement find a hurt and heal it, find a discouraged soul and start encouraging, find a life where joy is escaping out the window and be the one to close it, find a life without a song and be the music to their ears! Be an ENCOURAGER!

Glad to Be Your Pastor,

C. Ray Adkins