Winning Ways: “When You Suffer from Sunset”

An older man was walking with his grandson on the beach when they met up with an old friend. The friend began to complain about his bad health and his bad finances and his bad family. To top it all off, he said, he had stayed out too long in the day and had a touch of sunstroke. The grandfather expressed sympathy for his friend as they parted ways.

Reflecting on all the complaints he had just heard, the child looked up and said, “Grandpa, I hope you never suffer from sunset.”

We’ve all had those moments when we saw everything through the damp fog of pessimism. I remember as a boy going to vacations in North Carolina. As we toured through some of the scenic mountain roads, sometimes we would drive right into the clouds. One moment we would be admiring these breath-taking views of the country spread out below us. Then the next moment it would all disappear in fog as a cloud would envelope us.

We have moments like that in life. At one moment our outlook is bright and then, suddenly, we pass through a gloomy cloud of pessimism that hides everything beautiful. Behind the actions of even your closest friends, you assume the worst motivations. As you begin some new project, you decide ahead of time that it’s doomed to failure. You even begin you have deep reservations that God remembers your name or cares about your problems.

Thankfully, God does not throw up his hands in disgust when we get like that. Our Lord’s treatment of the Apostle Thomas is a case in point. In every story of Thomas in the Bible, he never displayed an open and hopeful view of life. Morose, fatalistic, and resigned—this is what we see of Thomas. But under Christ’s influence, he changed.

This Sunday, we’ll look at Thomas, as well as another apostle called Matthew. Its part of our series through the lives of the Twelve Apostles called, “What God Can Do with Ordinary You.” Matthew had a dark past that was overcome by Christ’s forgiveness, while Thomas had a dark future that was overcome by Christ’s promise!

Most of us can identify with Matthew’s dark past or with Thomas’ dark future. Bring a friend this Sunday and find out how Christ can help us overcome these limitations. Join us at the 9:30am “Bold Blend” service or the 10:45am “Smooth Blend” service, or listen online Monday (iTunes; website).

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