Elevated Friday, August 24th, 2018

Happy Elevated Friday! Today we highlight a story of two men who used what they had readily available to save a life. Kwame Anderson and Jason Gabel, two beer delivery men, were making their rounds recently around St. Paul, Minnesota when they noticed a man hanging onto the outside of a fence on an interstate overpass. They immediately pulled over and began talking with the man, coaxing him to come back down and not jump. While they called 911, they knew they could not wait for the police to show up. They had to act. Over the next hour, they continued to engage the man in conversation, sharing stories about their upbringing and learning that they and the man on the bridge were from similar areas with similar struggles. Finally, in a last ditch effort, Anderson used what he had: beer. He ran back to the truck and grabbed a six-pack and offered to have a beer with the man. The man came down off the bridge. While they didn’t end up sharing a beer then, as the man was taken to the hospital for evaluation, they did form a bond in a time when it was needed. Gabel said of the event, “I don’t know why I did this. I take a left and I go toward the bridge but usually we always go straight. We have a route that we do every Wednesday and that wasn't the way I would normally go. It wasn’t part of the plan, but it was God’s plan.”

Have you ever felt inadequate? Like God has led you to a place where you can or should make a difference but you don’t know how or don’t believe you have the means to? We have all been there. But often when we feel inadequate it is because we are not seeing our own strengths and readily available tools, but instead focusing on our weaknesses and what we are lacking. In Philippians it says, “I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.” What this truly means is that there is not and never will be a situation when you will be separate from Christ and unable to face the things God has placed in front of you. Today, take stock of your strengths and readily available tools for success and thank God for blessing you with them. He did not create you to face every challenge His world can provide, just the ones He designed for you to face.

“I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me.” – Philippians 4:13 GNTD

Original Article:

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