January 4th, 2026
The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
“Gator Aid for Life”
Have you heard about the "gator aid" that was given to enlisted men in a Florida training camp during World War II? The daily training for those GIs included a run through an obstacle course. On the final stretch of the endurance test, they had to grab a rope and swing across a broad, shallow pool.
Under the blazing southern sun the water looked so inviting to the men that most of them soon developed a habit of making it only halfway across the pond--that is, until an enterprising lieutenant made it the new home for a large alligator. From that day on, the recruits left the ground 15 feet from the water’s edge and fell sprawling in the dust on the other side.
If God made life easy for us, we would begin to think we were pretty strong and self sufficient. We would grow comfortable with little or no challenge to life. When we have no challenges, we get soft and have little reason to grow or get stronger. If it were easy to run a marathon, with no practice or training, no one would ever train and no one would consider making it a great accomplishment. If it were natural to just sit down and play a great overture on the piano without any rehearsal or training, no one would appreciate the beauty of the music performed by a highly disciplined artiste. If it were simple to strike a golf ball with a club and put it in the hole with a single swing, the game would become boring and no one would have passion for the game.
But things that come hard challenge the human spirit to do our best, to learn the intricacies, developing skills and endurance to attain the highest levels of expertise possible in the ventures of life that draw our passion. We need coaches, teacher, friends, encouragers, and especially God to push, train and teach us what we need to know and how to do our best.
Life is hard! It is hard so we can be challenged, so we can feel frustrated and defeated, so we can realize how much we need God. God often allows us to fail and flail in our own strength until we are ready to cry out for his help. A drowning victim cannot be rescued until he stops struggling and grows too tired to keep trying save himself. Once he relaxes, often from having his strength spent, a lifeguard can jump in and pull him from the water.
Many of us need God’s “gator aid” to encourage us to do our best. But we also need to understand that our best is not enough if we don’t put our hope in the Lord.
…those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
Are you tired? Are you worn out? Are you wondering if God will ever step in and rescue you from the mess in which you have found yourself? This Sunday we will look at the way to “Renew Your Strength” based on Isaiah 40:27-31 in the second message from our series “A NEW YOU IN A NEW YEAR.” Come and see how God can give you new energy through the building of your hope.
Hoping in Him,
Jon
“Gator Aid for Life”
Have you heard about the "gator aid" that was given to enlisted men in a Florida training camp during World War II? The daily training for those GIs included a run through an obstacle course. On the final stretch of the endurance test, they had to grab a rope and swing across a broad, shallow pool.
Under the blazing southern sun the water looked so inviting to the men that most of them soon developed a habit of making it only halfway across the pond--that is, until an enterprising lieutenant made it the new home for a large alligator. From that day on, the recruits left the ground 15 feet from the water’s edge and fell sprawling in the dust on the other side.
If God made life easy for us, we would begin to think we were pretty strong and self sufficient. We would grow comfortable with little or no challenge to life. When we have no challenges, we get soft and have little reason to grow or get stronger. If it were easy to run a marathon, with no practice or training, no one would ever train and no one would consider making it a great accomplishment. If it were natural to just sit down and play a great overture on the piano without any rehearsal or training, no one would appreciate the beauty of the music performed by a highly disciplined artiste. If it were simple to strike a golf ball with a club and put it in the hole with a single swing, the game would become boring and no one would have passion for the game.
But things that come hard challenge the human spirit to do our best, to learn the intricacies, developing skills and endurance to attain the highest levels of expertise possible in the ventures of life that draw our passion. We need coaches, teacher, friends, encouragers, and especially God to push, train and teach us what we need to know and how to do our best.
Life is hard! It is hard so we can be challenged, so we can feel frustrated and defeated, so we can realize how much we need God. God often allows us to fail and flail in our own strength until we are ready to cry out for his help. A drowning victim cannot be rescued until he stops struggling and grows too tired to keep trying save himself. Once he relaxes, often from having his strength spent, a lifeguard can jump in and pull him from the water.
Many of us need God’s “gator aid” to encourage us to do our best. But we also need to understand that our best is not enough if we don’t put our hope in the Lord.
…those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (NIV)
Are you tired? Are you worn out? Are you wondering if God will ever step in and rescue you from the mess in which you have found yourself? This Sunday we will look at the way to “Renew Your Strength” based on Isaiah 40:27-31 in the second message from our series “A NEW YOU IN A NEW YEAR.” Come and see how God can give you new energy through the building of your hope.
Hoping in Him,
Jon
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