From 1930 to 1947, Gladys Aylward served as a missionary to China, spending much of her time caring for orphan children. When the Japanese invaded China, and her city of Yangcheng, Gladys was forced to flee. She refused, however, to abandon her children. And so, with only one assistant, she led over a hundred orphans over the mountains to a part of China that was still free.

I’ve traveled with children. My own, and those of others. It’s never a picnic, and it surely wasn’t for Gladys. She grappled with despair as never before. Once she stayed awake all night while the children slept, praying that the enemy would not find them.

The next morning, Gladys was a wreck. The older children sensed it, and tried to encourage her. A thirteen year old girl reminded her of the story of Moses and the Exodus and compared Gladys to the great Israelite leader: as he led the children of God, so she was leading children of God.

Gladys, in tears, cried: “But I’m not Moses.”

And the young girl replied: “But God is still God.”

They went on to make it through, a tremendous story of heroism and faith.

Habakkuk wrote:"Of what value is an idol, since a man has carved it? Or an image that teaches lies? For he who makes it trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Woe to him who says to wood, `Come to life!' Or to lifeless stone, `Wake up!' Can it give guidance? It is covered with gold and silver; there is no breath in it. But the LORD is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent before him.”

There is no one else to trust but God. Everyone and everything else will let us down. But not the Lord. There will be times we will feel inadequate, but God has never left us “on our own.” He is still the God who He covers the sky with clouds, supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills; who provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call (Psalm 147:8-9). He still spreads snow like wool and scatters the frost like ashes (Psalm 147:16). Jesus said: ‘If he clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and gone tomorrow, will he not clothe you?’

David wrote: “If the LORD delights in a man's way, he makes his steps firm; though he stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand. I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be blessed. Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever. For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever . . .” (Psalm 37:23-28).

You may not be as strong as any character of the Bible, but God is as strong as he ever was, and He wants you, more than anything else, to lean on Him.

I've just finished reading Lee Iacocca's new book, Where Have All the Leaders Gone? It was a great read, though if you like your truths vague and sugarcoated, you might want to skip Iacocca. "Vague" isn't one of his strong suits.

At the end, he has some advice for people in, and headed for, retirement. His last recommendation is to "Say Your Prayers." He writes: "With the passage of years, when you see that there's a lot more behind you than there is ahead of you, you start praying harder. . . I never spent a lot of time wondering what comes next. There was too much to do in the here and now. Getting older has humbled me some, and I say my prayers a little more fervently these days. . . There's no escaping mortality, and the older you get, the more you are reminded of it. Death is the great equalizer, and we all look pretty much the same lying in the coffin. Life is where you can make things happen" (pp. 253-255).

I'm not sure he intended it, but there surely seems to be a bit of desperation there - kinda like: "Oops, time's running out. Better pray!"

God doesn't intend his children live that way, though I am surely glad Mr. Iacoccca IS praying more. God wants us to pray not just in anticipation of the end of life, but pray through life. As difficult as it is at times, life is surely easier when we are in daily conversation with the one who's running the show. The Bible says Jesus often spent time in prayer (Luke 5:16). In his last words to his disciples, Jesus told them three times to be sure and pray. The assurance was that what they asked for, they would receive (John 14:13; 15:7; 16:24-26).

Years later, Jesus' brother, James, would write: "You do not have, because you do not ask God" (James 4:2).

There are four reasons to pray: First, because God asks us to. Second, because we can. It's a huge privilege. Third, because life goes much better when we do than when we don't. And fourth, we will, as Iacocca points out, one day meet the Lord. It will go much better if we meet Him as a friend rather than as a stranger.

Hello and welcome to my personal, "preacher blog." This has been a new addition added during the redo of the website here at Falls Church.