Daddy's Ministry of Encouragement March 2024

Never in my life have I seen time going as fast as it is going in the day in which you and I are living. You don’t turn around until another month has passed and it seems to me that days fly by and they are gone. In the Old Testament a man by the Job tells us, “Now my days are swifter than a post, they flee by,” (Job 9:25) Now, you may be asking, “What on earth is a post?” Well in ancient times swift runners were often employed to convey important messages and Kings kept a

number of them in their household. Also, in Job 9:26, we read where Job is again talking about how fast days pass by,“They are passed away as the swift ships, as the eagle that hasteth to the prey.” How true these words of Job are to each of you today. It seems to me that everything is moving at a faster pace than how things were years ago. On our highways, folks drive like they are going to a fire, wide open and traveling at top speed. Everybody is I a hurry and have no intentions of slowing down.

As we all get older, we come to realize that we have more years behind us than we do before us. There is no stopping the aging process or putting it on hold until we are ready to move forward with another year of life. As we travel down life’s

road we realize that the older we get it seems that there are more things put before us that we must deal with. It may be that we have to deal with some major health issue for ourselves or a dear and precious loved one. It may be that there are serious drug or alcohol problems with a family member that we must deal with. It may that there is not enough money each month to meet our financial obligations. All of these things bring anxiety to us, sleepless nights and

trouble all the day long. So sad that there are those who might say, “I just wish my life would hurry up and be over with and I would not have to face these problems.” I have always heard, “You don’t need to wish your life away.”

I love the old hymn, “Hold to God’s Unchanging Hand” which says, “Time is filled with swift transition, Naught on earth unmoved can stand, Build your hopes on things eternal, Hold to God’s unchanging hand.” I love what verse two of that

old hymn says to us, “Trust in Him who will not leave you, Whatsoever years may bring, If by earthly friends forsaken, Still more closely to Him cling!” We all know there are times when we feel that we stand alone when troubles come our

way and we feel that absolutely no one cares about the valley we are walking through or the mountain before us that we are going to have to climb in life, but then we come to realize that the Bible tells us, “there is One that sticketh closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24) Like David said, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4) We must realize that the Lord’s “rod and staff” are His mercy and His grace.

Growing up on a farm when things were far different than they are today, time was something that seemed to move at a snail’s pace. The summers were hot and seemed to last forever, it seemed that Christmas would never come to the old drafty farm house we lived in and the winters were long and cold to the point Daddy would begin to wonder if we were going to run out of fire wood to cook with and to burn in the fire place. Folks were never in a hurry, there was hardly any place to go, the old vehicles chugged along on the dirt roads which had only one lane and what a thrill it was in the summer time to turn those little side windows so the air would flow into the old vehicle to cool us off while we traveled going to visit a neighbor or to go into Hiram or Dallas, Ga. to get us a new part of brogans to wear or a new pair of overalls to wear to school. Let me say right here in this message, if I had ever cut holes in my overalls like the modern trend is today, my Daddy and Mama would have given me a good “whooping.” I can’t understand why today’s new fashion trend for both male and female is to take a good pair of jeans and cut holes in them until they look totally ragged. I truly think those folks that do this have a major issue they need to deal with! God does not give us clothes to wear to be fashioned to look like pure heck.

Oh, if folks today would just realize how good life is and to put their life in low gear and slow down and take one day at a time it would make a world of difference. I want to encourage each of you to consider Psalm 90:12, “So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.” Wisdom is knowing, following and praising the Lord for the goodness of life and His blessings upon us. I want to encourage you today to slow down, stop and smell the roses that soon will be blooming, enjoy each day the Lord gives you and put all of your troubles and your cares into “God’s Unchanging Hand.”

Rev. Don Rackley – Ministry of Encouragement