Hard by the yard, a cinch by the inch

In East Tennessee, the bold front-page headline of The Mountain Press reported, “DEVASTATION.” It was followed by “Gatlinburg bears brunt of fires.” In an accompanying story, Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters was quoted, “It looks like a scene from a horror movie.” The fire that began in the Chimney Tops area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was pushed on into Gatlinburg and other areas by winds that rose to over 87 miles per hour. Along with spreading the blaze from the national park, the winds also uprooted trees, which blocked roads and struck power lines, causing even more fires.

With the fires now seemingly under cautious control, homes and businesses have been lost, injuries have been caused and lives have been lost. The situation leads me to think of two specific instances. The first is the Old Testament story of Esther. Mordecai had adopted his young cousin Esther after her mother and father died. Eventually, Esther was in a unique position to have an opportunity to help save the Israelites when they were in dire straits, even though it could cost Esther her own life. That was when Mordecai told her, “And who knows, maybe God has brought you to this place for such a time as this.” With this encouragement, Esther succeeded in her gigantic task.

The second thing that comes to mind is a scene from the Hacksaw Ridge film I commented on in a recent column. I highly recommended this film about Corporal Desmond Doss, a Christian conscientious objector combat medic who single-handedly rescued 75 soldiers in World War II during the battle of Okinawa. The bravery of this unarmed soldier led to Corporal Doss being awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the United States’ highest military honor. While Doss didn’t believe in killing another person, he was compelled to enlist in the army to save lives because he didn’t want to stay behind while others were sacrificing for him.

Left alone as the only able-bodied American soldier on the mountain top called Hacksaw Ridge, Doss asked God, “What is it you want of me?” Immediately, Doss heard one of the wounded soldiers cry out for help. In a hail of gunfire, he rescued the incapacitated soldier and ingeniously lowed him off the mountain with a rope. Doss then proceeded to say, “Lord, give me one more. Help me get one more.” The Lord responded and Doss eventually lowered a total of 75 wounded soldiers off the mountain and into safety to be taken care of in a makeshift ER and then flown from the battle zone for additional care.

Gatlinburg, Sevier County and other affected areas need individuals and groups to step forward in various ways with assorted talents, experiences, knowledges and resources. What can you do to help? First, it would be wise to follow the leadership of Desmond Doss. Ask God, “What is it you want of me?” And then when He leads you to do one thing, continue to follow Doss’s example, saying, “Lord, give me one more (thing to do). Help me get one more (thing accomplished).”

This one-step-at-a-time mentality is also what it’s going to take to rebuild what has been destroyed. As I have often written and spoken, we must break things down into their individual component parts. That’s the way we take care of seemingly overwhelming tasks. I like to say, “It’s hard by the yard, but a cinch by the inch.” Setting and reaching high goals is accomplished by setting and reaching smaller goals along the way.

“May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace - a peace that passes all understanding." (Psalm 29:11)     

2016 by Carl Mays, National Speakers Hall of Fame member and author of over a dozen books, including the classic A Strategy For Winning (foreword by Lou Holtz). E-mail [email protected]. Visit www.carlmays.com.