Busy in his study, a minister was preparing his sermon for the coming Sunday. He reached to the shelf at his side for a book, and then remembered that he had left it downstairs.

His little daughter was playing in the bedroom, and he called her. She came, running, eager and delighted at the thought that Papa needed her. He explained carefully where she could find the book, and she went gladly, returning in a moment with a book which he saw at a glance was the wrong one.

But he hardly looked at the book as he took it and laid it on the table. He looked only at the eager face of his daughter, wreathed in smiles. Gathering her close to his heart, he kissed her and said, “Thank You, darling.”

And when she had gone back happy and contented to her play, he went quietly for the book he needed.

I think I should like to listen to the sermons that man would preach.

A farmer had one old horse that he used for tilling his fields. One day the horse escaped into the hills and when all the farmer’s neighbors heard about it, they sympathized with the old man over his bad luck. “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” said the farmer.

A week later, the horse returned with a herd of wild horses from the hills and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” said the farmer.

Then, when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone agreed that this was very bad luck. Not the farmer, who replied, “Bad Luck? Good luck? Who knows?”

Some weeks later, the army marched into the village and forced every able-bodied young man to go fight in a bloody war. When they saw that the farmer’s son had a broken leg, they let him stay. Everyone was very happy at the farmer’s good luck.

“Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?”

Life is a lot like that. Sometimes it seems like things are going well, and at other times, things seem to be going badly. And we let those things dictate our feelings and our outlook on life. When things are going well, we’re happy and we think God is with us. If they are going badly, we get discouraged and think that God must have abandoned us. We end up being tossed around by our circumstances.

But the apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4 that he had learned to be content, even happy, in all circumstances. He was happy when things were bad (he was in jail at the time), and he was happy when things were going good as well.

That’s the great thing about being part of God’s family. We really don’t have to worry in our circumstances, because no matter what, we have hope in Christ. “We know that in everything, God works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28).

An Atheist and a Christian were hiking up a mountain; they came upon a large rock and decided to rest. While there, they talked about their jobs, families, and how good it was to enjoy nature.

Their conversation then drifted toward the supernatural. “I do not believe in God because there is no proof of his existence,” said the Atheist.

The Christian did not immediately respond, but instead gazed upon the tall pines and blue sky above him. “No,” said the Christian, “we cannot actually see, hear, or touch God, but we can know that God exists since we can see the results of His work.”

The Christian continued, “Think of all the magnificent things we saw today… grand mountains, hundred of varieties of trees, flowers, insects, birds… and even you and I! There is beauty in all these things; they are good.”

The Atheist replied, “Yes, nature is definitely awesome, but I believe this all came about by chance.”

Again, the Christian peered at the billowy clouds above him, then asked, “We cannot see air, can we? We know that it exists because we see the effects of air. We see the trees sway and leaves rustle, but we do not actually see air nor wind. The effects of God are all around. We just have to take the time to look.”

Without another word, the Atheist and Christian continued their long journey up the mountain.