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May 2, 2009
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Your Half Full Glass, by Rubel Shelly
It dawned on me last Wednesday that I finally understand a string of
words that were spoken before I was born but which I have heard all my
life. They are the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt from his first
inaugural address. He gave the speech on March 4, 1933. It is the one
with the famous line that goes "the only thing we have to fear is fear
itself."
In the context of FDR's famous speech, here is what he said:
This is preeminently the time to speak the truth, the whole truth,
frankly and boldly. Nor need we shrink from honestly facing
conditions in our country today. This great Nation will endure as
it has endured, will revive and will prosper. So, first of all, let
me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is
fear itself -- nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which
paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every
dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and vigor
has met with that understanding and support of the people
themselves which is essential to victory. I am convinced that you
will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.
Without the experience of the past few months, I'm not sure I could
have grasped what Roosevelt was articulating to an earlier generation.
I've cut way back on listening to or reading "the news" -- in the
conviction that most of what I have been hearing or reading is negative
worldview rather than straightforward fact, negative interpretation
rather than simply news.
It is time to push back the darkness of despair with the light of hope.
You and I have been living a "culture of fear" -- in politics,
business, finance, education, water-cooler conversation, you name it.
We have forgotten the obvious and emphasized the negative. So fear has
been allowed to keep us awake, cloud our decisions, and poison our
relationships.
A fellow once told me his favorite verse in the Bible was this: "And it
came to pass ..." That's the obvious fact we seem to have forgotten.
Bad times don't last. Nothing down here lasts for long. And that's true
of the economic chaos of the past year and a half.
It is time for our own "nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which
paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance" to give way
to realism tempered with optimism. It is time for you to be bold in
planning for the future. It is time to push back the darkness of
despair with the light of hope.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree
of life (Proverbs 13:12 NLT).
That half-empty glass of yours is half-full.
---------
(c) 2009 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly <rshelly@rc.edu>'s
"FAX of Life" printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for
previous issues of the "FAX of Life."
RELATED LINKS:
* The Power of Hope
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200807/20080716_hopepower.html
* God in the Dark
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200603/20060305_dark.html
* If Life Were as Sweet as a Krispy Kreme Donut
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200703/20070328_krispykreme.html
* RubelShelly.com
http://www.rubelshelly.com/
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200905/20090502_halffull.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
NOT EVEN A HINT: GUARDING YOUR HEART AGAINST LUST, by Joshua Harris
Straightforward without being graphic, Harris's handbook offers
practical advice for combating unholy urges, preparing young people for
a lifetime of resisting temptation, and embracing godly desire.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?251
Find more great books, CDs and videos at the Heartlight store! With
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