THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK DEVOTIONAL
The Ill-Fated Ride
By Bobby Davis October 25th
“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.” John 16:1
We were heading to Recife, in northeastern Brazil, and I was excited. As a missionary kid growing up in the mid 1960s, I would occasionally be allowed to travel the two-and-a-half hours to the big city with Mom and Dad to buy things we couldn’t find in our little town’s open-air market. But this time was different, because Mom was going to take me on my first trip to the one-and-only department store!
I was amazed by all the clothes and perfume and appliances on display. And there were people everywhere. But suddenly, something else caught my attention. There, in the middle of the store was the very first escalator I’d ever seen!
Mom was looking at a dress or something, and despite my pleas, I was going to have to wait until she was done.
“Mom, I can meet you up there!”
“No, honey, just be patient. We’ll go up there soon enough.”
“But Mommmm!” I cried, “Pleeeease let me! I’ll wait for you.”
My cries fell on deaf ears; but after what seemed like an eternity, we finally rode the escalator. As I hopped on, I felt I was flying. Up and up we went, and when we approached the top, Mom took my hand and helped me step off. It was a strange sensation to stop moving so suddenly, but I couldn’t wait to do it again.
Several years later, we were back again, and this time I was old enough to ride the escalator myself. However, as every kid knows, riding the escalator up and down quickly loses its thrill, and suddenly, the idea of climbing up the down escalator hit me hard! Forgetting my mother’s warnings from years before, I watched for a break and made a run for it. But a few steps from the top, several ladies stepped on and I had to abort the mission.
Carefully, I watched for another opportunity and took off running again; and this time I made it! Oh how proud I was of myself!
Full of confidence, I had another thought. What if I rode the down escalator backwards?
What a great idea! I thought. And it wasn’t.
Oh, I certainly got a thrill from riding down, down, down, but I didn’t count on the sudden stop that threw me off balance when my heels hit the end of the escalator! I must have been a sight—arms flailing like a windmill and a terrified look on my face. I landed hard, and it knocked the wind out of me. Nursing my wounded pride, I picked myself up and walked away as several of the ladies snickered and shook their heads.
I learned a few things about escalators that day—and much later, I drew some important lessons from that experience, too. You see, just like the escalator, my human, sinful nature drags me down lower every day. To gain victory, I must continue to climb higher spiritually, following my Lord one step at a time.
Much of the time, I enjoy the insights I get as I progress. But at other times, I slow down and become complacent. Then, my old nature quickly reasserts itself, and if I’m not growing spiritually, I soon find myself flat on my back again, wondering, How could this have happened, again?
I guess the old saying is true: “You grow, or you go.”
The Ill-Fated Ride
By Bobby Davis October 25th
“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.” John 16:1
We were heading to Recife, in northeastern Brazil, and I was excited. As a missionary kid growing up in the mid 1960s, I would occasionally be allowed to travel the two-and-a-half hours to the big city with Mom and Dad to buy things we couldn’t find in our little town’s open-air market. But this time was different, because Mom was going to take me on my first trip to the one-and-only department store!
I was amazed by all the clothes and perfume and appliances on display. And there were people everywhere. But suddenly, something else caught my attention. There, in the middle of the store was the very first escalator I’d ever seen!
Mom was looking at a dress or something, and despite my pleas, I was going to have to wait until she was done.
“Mom, I can meet you up there!”
“No, honey, just be patient. We’ll go up there soon enough.”
“But Mommmm!” I cried, “Pleeeease let me! I’ll wait for you.”
My cries fell on deaf ears; but after what seemed like an eternity, we finally rode the escalator. As I hopped on, I felt I was flying. Up and up we went, and when we approached the top, Mom took my hand and helped me step off. It was a strange sensation to stop moving so suddenly, but I couldn’t wait to do it again.
Several years later, we were back again, and this time I was old enough to ride the escalator myself. However, as every kid knows, riding the escalator up and down quickly loses its thrill, and suddenly, the idea of climbing up the down escalator hit me hard! Forgetting my mother’s warnings from years before, I watched for a break and made a run for it. But a few steps from the top, several ladies stepped on and I had to abort the mission.
Carefully, I watched for another opportunity and took off running again; and this time I made it! Oh how proud I was of myself!
Full of confidence, I had another thought. What if I rode the down escalator backwards?
What a great idea! I thought. And it wasn’t.
Oh, I certainly got a thrill from riding down, down, down, but I didn’t count on the sudden stop that threw me off balance when my heels hit the end of the escalator! I must have been a sight—arms flailing like a windmill and a terrified look on my face. I landed hard, and it knocked the wind out of me. Nursing my wounded pride, I picked myself up and walked away as several of the ladies snickered and shook their heads.
I learned a few things about escalators that day—and much later, I drew some important lessons from that experience, too. You see, just like the escalator, my human, sinful nature drags me down lower every day. To gain victory, I must continue to climb higher spiritually, following my Lord one step at a time.
Much of the time, I enjoy the insights I get as I progress. But at other times, I slow down and become complacent. Then, my old nature quickly reasserts itself, and if I’m not growing spiritually, I soon find myself flat on my back again, wondering, How could this have happened, again?
I guess the old saying is true: “You grow, or you go.”
THREE ANGELS BROADCASTING NETWORK DEVOTIONAL
The Ill-Fated Ride
By Bobby Davis October 25th
“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.” John 16:1
We were heading to Recife, in northeastern Brazil, and I was excited. As a missionary kid growing up in the mid 1960s, I would occasionally be allowed to travel the two-and-a-half hours to the big city with Mom and Dad to buy things we couldn’t find in our little town’s open-air market. But this time was different, because Mom was going to take me on my first trip to the one-and-only department store!
I was amazed by all the clothes and perfume and appliances on display. And there were people everywhere. But suddenly, something else caught my attention. There, in the middle of the store was the very first escalator I’d ever seen!
Mom was looking at a dress or something, and despite my pleas, I was going to have to wait until she was done.
“Mom, I can meet you up there!”
“No, honey, just be patient. We’ll go up there soon enough.”
“But Mommmm!” I cried, “Pleeeease let me! I’ll wait for you.”
My cries fell on deaf ears; but after what seemed like an eternity, we finally rode the escalator. As I hopped on, I felt I was flying. Up and up we went, and when we approached the top, Mom took my hand and helped me step off. It was a strange sensation to stop moving so suddenly, but I couldn’t wait to do it again.
Several years later, we were back again, and this time I was old enough to ride the escalator myself. However, as every kid knows, riding the escalator up and down quickly loses its thrill, and suddenly, the idea of climbing up the down escalator hit me hard! Forgetting my mother’s warnings from years before, I watched for a break and made a run for it. But a few steps from the top, several ladies stepped on and I had to abort the mission.
Carefully, I watched for another opportunity and took off running again; and this time I made it! Oh how proud I was of myself!
Full of confidence, I had another thought. What if I rode the down escalator backwards?
What a great idea! I thought. And it wasn’t.
Oh, I certainly got a thrill from riding down, down, down, but I didn’t count on the sudden stop that threw me off balance when my heels hit the end of the escalator! I must have been a sight—arms flailing like a windmill and a terrified look on my face. I landed hard, and it knocked the wind out of me. Nursing my wounded pride, I picked myself up and walked away as several of the ladies snickered and shook their heads.
I learned a few things about escalators that day—and much later, I drew some important lessons from that experience, too. You see, just like the escalator, my human, sinful nature drags me down lower every day. To gain victory, I must continue to climb higher spiritually, following my Lord one step at a time.
Much of the time, I enjoy the insights I get as I progress. But at other times, I slow down and become complacent. Then, my old nature quickly reasserts itself, and if I’m not growing spiritually, I soon find myself flat on my back again, wondering, How could this have happened, again?
I guess the old saying is true: “You grow, or you go.”
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