As M. Dunham wrote, “Sir Edmund Hilary was the first person to conquer Mt. Everest. The first time he tried, he failed. He was knighted by the Queen of England, and at the gala occasion, on the wall behind the head table, was a huge picture of Mt. Everest. The people gave him a standing ovation for even daring to attempt the climb. When they ceased applauding, Hilary turned his back to the audience, faced that picture and said, “Mt. Everest, you have defeated me once and you might defeat me again. But I’m coming back again and again, and I’m going to win because you can’t get any bigger, Mt. Everest, and I can.”*

Great attitude! What a difference it would make if we felt the same when we face the mountains in our lives. The reality of life is that we often learn more through our failures than we do through our successes. Successes are satisfying and they are important to keep us encouraged. However, failure is our greatest teacher. This is because in every failure there is the opportunity to learn, to grow, and to become stronger, better persons. And this is what God wants for each of us—not to beat ourselves up when we fail, but to grow stronger!

Whatever mountain you are facing at this time of your life—large or small—remember God is right there with you. If anything is his will for you, you know that with his help you, too, can say to your mountain, “You have defeated me once and you might defeat me again. But I’m coming back again and again, and I’m going to win because you can’t get any bigger and I can. Plus God is on my side to help me.”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, grant me the courage to face every mountain in my life and, with your help, never give up until I conquer each one and learn what you are seeking to teach me. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

*NOTE: Actually I believe Mt. Everest is growing a tiny fraction each year, but the illustration is valid re the point Sir Edmund Hilary was making.

1. Proverbs 24:16.

“A ruthless businessman once said to author Mark Twain, “Before I die I mean to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. I will climb Mount Sinai and read the Ten Commandments aloud from the top.”

“I have a better idea,” Twain remarked, “You could stay home here and keep them.”

Talk is cheap. It’s what we do that counts—not what we say—and when our words don’t match our actions, we are, as the Apostle Paul put it, as empty vessels and clanging cymbals.

One of the best lessons I learned from one of my many teachers was the written comment he seemed to relish writing in bold red letters in the column of several of my written assignments. It simply read, “Show me. Don’t tell me.” I got the message!

I’ve never forgotten that lesson. It really applies to all of life’s lessons we want to impart to others—especially to our children! Whatever we want to teach others we need to model ourselves before we can make any lasting impact on anybody else; otherwise what we say is unbelievable and the only person we deceive in the long run will be ourselves.

As a general rule, we teach best that which we ourselves most need to learn. And the place to begin modeling what we want to teach is at home!

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, help me to model the kind of person you want me to be … a better father/mother/child … friend … partner … business person … and Christian so that people seeing what you have done in my life will want the same for themselves. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. John 14:15.

In his book, Peak Performers, Dr. Charles Garfield describes how the astronauts keep their spacecraft on course.

“On their flights between earth and the moon, it was said, the Apollo ships were off course much of the time. In each instance, the spacecraft would wander off its path and the crew would correct—wander off and correct, again and again. And do you know what? It didn’t matter. What mattered were the results. They got to the moon. They got home. They did it by having the discipline and knowledge to get themselves back on course. They followed not a perfect path, but a critical path.”

Whether we’re shooting for the moon, seeking to achieve a better personal or family life, or seeking to obey and serve God, whatever our goals, the principle is the same. There are always unpredictable and unexpected events that call for change and adjustment. Although the astronauts had to be precise in their calculations, they still allowed for mistakes and corrections. The person who doesn’t allow for such adjustments will probably not reach his or her goals. As Charles Garfield explained, the “critical path” is the way to reach any target.

For the Christian our goal is to obey and serve God and to go on to maturity. We will stumble at times, make mistakes, fail, and hit many a bump in the road. When we fall, however, the important thing is the critical path—to get up, correct our course and go on.

And as one author reminds us, “The bumps are what we climb on!”

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, again today I commit and trust my life and way to you and commit my life to serving you. Thank you that you are always with me to guide and direct my life and correct any wrong or harmful turns that I might make—to keep me on target with the goals and purpose you have for my life. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Proverbs 24:16 (NIV).

The following story appeared in The Houston Chronicle. I have since learned that this is reported to be an urban legend and may not be true. However, as a parable it has a message in that all of us need to do the best we can with what we have.

On November 18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, performed a concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. Itzhak was stricken with polio as a child; has braces on both legs and has to use two crutches to help him walk, so it is quite a chore for him to come onto any stage.

Barely had he started his concert when one of the strings on his violin broke. The snap was so loud, there was no mistake among the audience as to what happened. Instead of the arduous task of leaving the stage to change the broken string or get another violin, Itzhak “waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra began, and he played from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before. Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. You could see him modulating, changing, and recomposing the piece in his head….

“When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium. We were all on our feet, screaming and cheering; doing everything we could to show how much we appreciated what he had done. He smiled, wiped the sweat from this brow, raised his bow to quiet us, and then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone, ‘You know, sometimes it is the artist’s task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left.’”²

Suggested prayer: “Dear God, please help me to give life my best shot with what I have and use it to the best of my ability for your glory—and not worry about what I don’t have. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

1. Exodus 4:2 (NIV).

2. Jack Riemer, The Houston Chronicle.