By Ministry Coordinator Kent Sullivan | August 1, 2021
Focus and Perspective
Numbers 13:30-31
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.”
As I have been watching the Olympics in Tokyo, I am amazed at all the different events and the popularity of some over the others. Some are like watching golf on Sunday afternoon knowing I will only catch a few drives & putts between my naps. The athletes have been training for many years for their shot at winning a medal. Many reflect thinking they really have very little shot at standing on the podium with a medal hanging around their neck, hearing the national anthem of the homeland being played. Others believe in their hearts they will, and have already experienced it! Nevertheless, they all have earned the privilege to be there and compete with all the other athletes. They are giving it there all and are trying to prove to themselves, their families, and their countries they can do it!
We will never know if we can or can’t until we try! There are situations in all our lives that with God leading us, we can overcome. As LeAnn and I have watched Josiah over the years overcome a major life changing event, daily he continues to overcome obstacles with determination and a can-do attitude.
I will be watching very intently during the Paralympics later in August. Team USA won the Silver Medal in Wheelchair Rugby in 2016 in Rio. They lost in the Gold Medal Match to Australia in double overtime! Not only do we have several personal friends on the team, but we have also been involved in the sport for many years with Josiah. When I look at the comparison between the athletes of both games, I am amazed at the attitude of the heart and determination to succeed. All the Paralympians have had to adapt to different challenges and obstacles in their lives, but keep pressing forward with the motivation to say, “We CAN”.
In life there are those who are in the We Can Camp and those in the We Can’t Camp, and both are right. If you start with the “We Can’t” you won’t even try, so you will never accomplish the tasks. But if you start with the “We Can”, then you are at least in the game, and have a shot at the goal.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.