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“For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”  – Matthew 7:8 

A fellow was stuck on his rooftop in a flood.  He was praying to God for help.  Soon a man in a rowboat came by and shouted to the man on the roof.  “Jump in, I can save you.”  The stranded fellow shouted back, “No, it’s OK, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me.”  So the rowboat went on.  Then a motorboat came by and the man in that boat also shouted, “Jump in, I can save you.”  But again the stranded man responded, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and he is going to save me.  I have faith.”  Later a helicopter flew over and the pilot shouted down, “Grab this rope and I’ll lift you up to safety.”  “No thanks,” the stranded man replied, “I’m praying to God and he is going to save me.  I have faith.”  Soon the water rose above the rooftop and the man drowned.  He went to Heaven where he had a chance to confront God.  “I had faith in you but you didn’t save me, you let me down.  I don’t understand why!”  To this God replied, “I sent you a rowboat, a motorboat and a helicopter, what more did you expect?”

This story, which we’ve all probably heard many times, struck home with me recently.  It was during a lull in my business that I had been praying to God for more to do, when sure enough out of the blue an unexpected phone call arrived with a business opportunity.  But because it was not exactly what I had in mind I sort of blew it off.  Now I wonder, though much too late, if that wasn’t a rowboat that had shown up urging me to, “jump in, I’ve got work for you to do.”  To which I much too quickly and smugly responded, “No thanks, I’m praying to God and I’m sure he’s got something much better in mind.”

How often I have failed to recognize God’s miraculous, albeit sometimes subtle, answers to my prayers.  And, as with the poor guy stranded on his rooftop, it is not for lack of persistence in prayer or lack of faith.  My problem is that after offering my petitions to Almighty God I tend of have preconceived ideas how He should answer.  But His ways are not my ways, I must remind myself, lest His mighty works elude me even though right before my very eyes — like the ignored phone call or the fellow clinging to the rooftop.  Answer He does, nevertheless, just as promised: “For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.”

“Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord . . .”  – Isaiah 11:3 

While on a hiking excursion in Big Bend National Park a couple of years ago, Tee and I decided to venture up Emory Peak, which at 7,832 feet is the highest elevation in Big Bend.  Equipped with an ample supply of water, sunscreen and granola bars we set out on the 9.3-mile roundtrip journey.  For the most part, the climb is a modest challenge, ascending along a comfortably wide switchback trail — “ that is, until near the pinnacle where it becomes a bit more treacherous as the path narrows considerably and is fraught with stretches of loose stones that could easily cause one to slip.  Being the oldest among the other hikers we encountered that day, we were also by far the slowest, but our perseverance, and humility, paid off when we finally got to experience that majestic view from the summit.

On another occasion, several years earlier while visiting Yellowstone National Park, we had started up the side of mountain along a trail that all too quickly led into some dense woods and a scarcely traveled single-file path.  Fearing a bear encounter as the trail grew darker, or worse, getting completely lost, we were about to give up and turn around when we spotted a clearing up ahead.  Suddenly we stepped out into the most breath-taking mountain meadow we had ever imagined where we could see for miles in every direction.

I find myself hypnotized by mountains, being drawn toward them like a siren’s song.  I look up and imagine the summit as a place where one can see forever, where life begins to make sense, and the presence of the Creator is nearby, a place that refreshes the soul. But as someone once said, if you don’t climb the mountain, you can’t see the view.  So, I climb as my age and ability allow.

We all have our places, I suspect, where life makes more sense, and we can feel the presence of the Creator nearby.  For me it is the mountains, but for you it may be the beach, the ocean, a flowing stream or river, the plains or a desert, a library or house of worship.  Whatever our respective “mountain” may be, that place that refreshes our soul, may we visit there from time to time, and experience its majestic view.  “Come,” the prophet Isaiah urges, “let us go to the mountain of the Lord.”

“He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” – Micah 6:8 

According to an acquaintance of mine, when he was thirteen years old his father insisted he memorize the twelfth chapter of the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans.  Here are a few nuggets of wisdom from that epistle: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind . . . Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought . . . Hate what is evil; cling to what is good . . . Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves . . . Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.  Bless those who persecute you . . . Live in harmony with one another.  Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position . . . Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody . . . live at peace with everyone . . . Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”  What amazing wisdom, I have thought many times since hearing that story, for a parent to pass along to a child!

Recently I had the opportunity to read renowned author and historian, David McCullough’s newest book, The Spirit of America.  Of particular interest to me was a commencement address McCullough had delivered at Ohio University to the graduating class of 2004.  Here are a few nuggets of wisdom from that speech: “Never forget that one of the greatest of our freedoms is the freedom to think for yourself . . . Read.  Read poetry, read biography, read the great literature that has stood the test of time.  Read history . . . When bad news is riding high and despair in fashion, when loud mouths and corruption seem to own center stage, when some keep crying that the country is going to the dogs, remember it’s always been going to the dogs in the eyes of some, and that 90 percent, or more, of the people are good people, generous-hearted, law-abiding, good citizens who get to work on time, do a good job, love their country, pay their taxes, care about their neighbors, care about their children’s education, and believe rightly, as do you, in the ideals upon which our way of life is founded . . .”

The ancient principles for living are still the same.  Over two millennia before David McCullough and centuries before St. Paul, the Prophet Micah summed it up this way, “To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”  Amazing wisdom!

“Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.”  – Jeremiah 6:16 

As that great philosopher Yogi Berra once said, “When you arrive at a fork in the road, take it.”  Ah, Yogi-isms, don’t we love them?  But this one hardly solves the dilemma we’re presented when we come to one of those inevitable forks in the road.

When my beloved friend and office mate, Jim Webb, was informed that he only had at most a year to live he found himself at a crossroad.  Faced with such a time limitation he had to choose carefully what path to take.  But for him the decision was an easy one.  He simply looked at his family, me included, and with that big Jim Webb smile announced, “You know, a person can do a lot of good in a year.”  And off he went to pack in all the good he could with the time he had left.

Just before graduating from high school each of my two sons had to endure a dinner outing with their dad for a little father-son chat.  During the course of the evening I asked this one question.  “What do you want to be?”  Each responded predictably that he wanted to be a lawyer or an architect or something-or-other I don’t recall.  But it was a trick question, you see, so I asked it again.  “No, I already know that,” I said, “I’m asking you what you want to BE!”  Each one in his respective moment first looked at me as if I had three heads, then they got it.  Both, in so many words, gave me the same answer.  “I want to be a good person,” they each replied.  Ah-ha!  That’s exactly the answer their old dad was hoping for.  You see, what I was trying to do was lead them up to that crossroad, and challenge them to look and consider carefully which path they would choose to take.

I wanted my sons to stand at that same crossroad where Jim Webb had stood and consider carefully which path they would take.  The only difference between Jim and my sons, as well as the rest of us I suppose, was that Jim’s time limit had been pre-determined; theirs and ours have not.  In his remaining months Jim did indeed do a lot of good and created a legacy through which his goodness lives on.  He chose the ancient path, where the good way is, and he walked in it, and by doing so he left this life as a man whose soul was at peace.  We have that same opportunity, if only we “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it . . .”

“Many proclaim themselves loyal, but who can find one worthy of trust?” - Proverbs 20:6

In his famously popular business book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni places lack of trust, or loss of trust, as the root cause for a team’s dysfunction.  That being true, then conversely one must surmise that teams and relationships that are highly functional, healthy and effective are at their core built on a foundation of trust.  Stephen M.R. Covey further dissects the issue of trust in his book, The Speed of Trust.  According to Covey, trust has two basic components — one being competence and the other character.  To truly gain someone’s trust requires both, that is being competent at what we do, and of good character in our dealings.

I’m reminded of the frustrations I experienced with a doctor’s office where I was once a patient.  The issue was not with the physician himself; rather with the office’s poor procedures.  Finally, in a face-to-face encounter I literally fired the doctor, just like one might do with an employee in a business.  And even though I had become increasingly upset with the poor service from his office (though not his medical competence), our conversation was not the least bit contentious.  In fact, it turned out to be healthy for both of us.  I got my frustrations off my chest, and his eyes were opened to a problem within his practice of which he had previously been unaware, a blind spot.  He could not have been nicer or more accommodating, even going out of his way to ensure all information was properly transferred to my new physician. Unfortunately, that all came about too late to restore my confidence (trust) in him enough to remain his patient.

My former doctor was hardly incompetent; to the contrary he is quite well regarded within his highly complex specialty field.  Nor was I ever treated poorly by him personally.  But he did exhibit a “character” flaw in the unsatisfactory manner by which his practice was managed, which ultimately reflected on him, and eventually caused me to lose confidence in him.

Healthy and effective relationships must be built on a foundation of trust, otherwise as happened with my doctor, they will not last.  The Proverb warns us of this very issue, “Many proclaim themselves loyal,” it says, “but who can find one worthy of trust?”