Throw Your Hat Over the Fence

Story of the Day for Monday March 26, 2013 

 

Throw Your Hat Over the Fence

 

               “The Lord has chosen you to build a house as the sanctuary. Be courageous and act.” 

                                            1 Chronicles 28:10

 

On May 25, 1961, President John F. Kennedy addressed a joint session of Congress and proposed the outrageous goal of landing a man on the moon before the end of the decade. No one knew exactly how such a goal could be achieved. Even many experts at NASA said it couldn’t be done.

Sometimes it’s prudent to launch a venture only after you have figured every step of the process. But, at other times, the commitment creates the solution.

 The ancient Roman armies centered their identity around their standards – poles with military ensigns. These poles identified each division and company, and were considered sacred and represented the spirit and soul of the military unit. When the Romans went to war in Germania, their objective was simply to recover the military standards lost by Varus in the Teutoburger Wald.

When you consider how highly the Romans honored their company standard, it may seem surprising that, when Romans soldiers were locked in a tight battle the commander would sometimes throw the Roman standard into the lines of the enemy. The idea was to create a challenge so his soldiers would be forced to find a way to recover their standard.

 Before David died, he told his son, Solomon, that he must build the temple. Such a project would be enormous, and David doesn’t tell him how to do it. He simply tells him to be courageous and do it.

So, when should we commit ourselves to stepping out in faith, and when should we develop an airtight business plan first? I don’t know.

But I do know that when we rise to a high challenge, it ignites our courage and passion. When we commit our cause to the Lord, we may not always know where that path may lead us. But seeking to stretch our faith will drive us to prayer – to a greater sense of dependence on the Lord.

 Is it time for you to throw your hat over the fence? That phrase was used by President Kennedy in a speech promoting the space program. He cited the Irish writer, Frank O’Connor, who, as a boy would walk through the countryside. When he and his friends came to an orchard wall that seemed too high and difficult to climb, they took their hats and tossed them over the wall. Now they had no choice but to climb over the wall.

Kennedy ended his speech by saying, “This nation has tossed its cap over the wall of space, and we have no choice but to follow it. Whatever the difficulties, they will be overcome . . . we will climb this wall . . . and we shall then explore the wonders on the other side.”

This was Kennedy’s final public speech. He was assassinated the next day in Dallas.

And, on July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong left his footprints on the moon.

(text copyright by climbinghigher.org and by Marty Kaarre)

(photo courtesy of NASA: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html)

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