Le No Man's Land

No Man’s Land is a place where no man could claim. The phrase was widely used during the First World War. Each army had its own way of saying it. The French English term, ‘le no man’s land’ while the Germans used, ‘Niemandsland’.

It was a place that separated the front lines between opposing armies. This was a place where agreements between armies were made in special occasion to seize fighting. The occasions varied… From picking up the dead and wounded to observing the first day of spring, it all happened in No man’s Land.

Many have characterized No Man’s Land as possibly the loneliest place on earth. It was a place where many may see you, but can’t help you. A place where you are surrounded by hopelessness.

One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. –Proverbs 18:24

Loneliness appears to be everywhere. It isn’t a rare feeling in our society. Being in a crowd can make one aware of how lonely they really are. Friends who are there for us make a huge difference. They care about us. They offer help. And they are willing to step in during the good times and the bad. It is better to have a few good friends with those characteristics then one thousand Facebook friends who ‘like your posts and pictures.

What about you? What if you stop trying to find a friend and seek to become one? There may be people in your life right now that need your friendship.

Not what I meant

The year was 1888 and a man by the name of William Gray was asking to use someone’s phone to contact a doctor for his very ill wife. That someone refused to let William use the phone. But eventually William found someone who would finally let him use one. Eventually his wife recovered but the experience left William thinking because he didn’t want this to ever happen again. The light bulb ignited: what about a public phone?

By 1891 William Gray created the Gray Telephone Pay Station Company and began installing phones across America. Within 100 years his company had accumulated over 20 patents related to phones and had more than 2 million pay phones installed all over the United States.

 Communication is important. Today most people have a cell phone in their pocket. We have never been so ‘connected’ before.  Today we can’t imagine not having a phone in our pocket everywhere we go. We feel like we’ve forgotten something just as important as our clothes if we leave the house without our cell phone.

A wicked messenger falls into trouble, but a trustworthy envoy brings healing. Proverbs. 13:17

The author of this verse was a king named Solomon from (970-930 B.C.). They had messengers in his time. If the messenger was not trustworthy, it could lead to bloodshed. Communication was just as important back in his time as it was in Williams’s time and as it continues to be today.

Receiving the right message is vital. Operating under incorrect information can ruin relationships. But receiving the correct message that was intended by the sender doesn’t just depend on the reception. It also depends on whether we are using the right words to get our point across and also whether we are taking the message the right way.

-For the husband or wife, does your spouse know and feel that you love her/him by what you are communicating in word and action? Are there some things that you are communicating unintentionally?  

-For the parents, does your kid(s) know that you always have there best interests in mind in everything you do? Are there some things that you are communicating unintentionally?  

-For the leader, do you know all of the messages you are sending to your organization? How many of those messages are intentional and how many are unintentional?

The Lamp

Have you ever felt overwhelmed? Like you’re to do list is so long that you don’t know what to do next? Your problem isn’t a new one. Sometimes we feel like we are in quick sand. The more we move, the more the sand pulls us further into a rut of things to do.

I’ve felt that way before. Where anxiety surrounds you like a group of elementary school bullies and exhaustion pulls you down like a formidable sea current until you feel like you’re alone in the middle of the ocean with no flotation device.

Consider Psalm 119:105: Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Sometimes there are points in our lives that because of the harsh weather, we can’t see into the distance. Our long range vision is compromised. There are no binoculars or advanced gadgets available to help us see into the distance. All we have is God’s word in the form of a lamp that is providing light toward our next step.

This requires you to trust God with your future. Just pay attention to His lamp, to His word. So that at least you know the next step to take. And let go of trying to figure out what will happen in the future. You can only take a step in the present anyway.

If you’ve made terrible steps to the wrong direction, don’t feel bad. We’ve all been there…. I like what Thomas Edison said, “I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward.”

Ask yourself: If I consider God’s word, what next step should I take?