Danger, Danger Will Robinson!
“Automobile Assist: Driver Drowsiness Has Been Detected.” My friend’s car actually tattles on her. If she moves too quickly into an occupied lane, red lights flash, and buzzers beep; if she moves upon the car ahead, the brakes activate; and if she appears to lose full attention, a cute coffee cup icon pops onto the screen.
The amenity package in this luxury car amazes me. But the amenity package of a premium friendship is just as stunning.
Have you ever found yourself dozing off in life and weaving from lane to lane? Have you ever closed in on an object in your career path threatening a crash? What about people who travel in your blind spots? Don’t you wish you had driver assists?
Too often we see friends who are “cruising for a bruising,” yet we avert our eyes and hearts because we don’t want to be intrusive. Actually, I think we fail to flash warning signals because the messiness of involvement is distasteful.
Don’t trusted colleagues make observations about career limiting moves? Don’t dear friends take the risk to share firsthand experiences of seeing spouses or children driving in the wrong lanes? Don’t ministry partners mention dozing off in the work of the Master?
When we bravely and appropriately issue our alerts, we do it with wisdom and gentleness. If my friend’s cars were to scream at her, she would undoubtedly overreact, overcorrect, and overdo. The helpfulness of warning would turn into dire destruction. The engineers designed a system for optimum effectiveness.
Conversely, if the car’s program merely sent happy talk messages, the beeps, buzzes, and flashes would go unheeded and ignored in times of trouble. It is tempting to pour out nonstop “attagirls/attaboys,” ignoring red flags in the lives of others.
Proverbs 26:7 puts it this way: “Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses of an enemy are excessive.”
Good friends understand how, when, and most importantly why to share these warnings. Good leaders exercise discernment and strengthen their organizations with appropriate Will Robinson management.
Prayer Network
by Brenda A. Smith, BWFLI.com, BreakfastWithFred.com
The Fall season for our schools brings bustling campuses, athletic events, homecomings, and board meetings – in addition to “normally scheduled programming.” The opportunities to reflect the glory of God are abundant.
The challenges of temptation and even threats from sources both external and internal are ever present. But we know our great God sustains them day by day. Let’s pray for joy in their journey and faithful walks on His purposeful path.
Prayer Patterns
by Bob Deffinbaugh, Bible.org, BWFLI.com
“15 For this reason I too, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which exists among you and your love for all the saints, 16 do not cease giving thanks for you, while making mention of you in my prayers; 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might 20 which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, 21 far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (Ephesians 1:15-23, NASB).”
What better instruction for our prayers than to pattern them after the prayers of the Apostle Paul in our text above. First, we should give great thanks to God for those in our colleges and universities who have come to a saving faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ. And having done so, we should pray diligently and consistently, as Paul did, for the spiritual growth of these believers. Most of all, that they would gain a greater grasp of the majesty and power of God, and the wonder of His grace in granting salvation through the life, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Let us not only pray that they will gain a greater grasp of what God has done for them in the past, but also what He has in store for them in the future. And as we pray these things for our college students, let us pray the same for ourselves.
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Steps to Joy
Weekly Thought – October 27, 2026
Fred was pushed by Jarrell McCracken of Word Publishing and many others to put his thoughts on paper. He resisted until 1983 when his classic, You and Your Network appeared. He made this comment about writing: “I sincerely want my writing to be about truth and usefulness… If some ideas seem small, mean, and hostile, it is because sometimes I am. If some are loving, supportive, and constructive, it is because sometimes I am. That is just the way I am… living in the tension between the good and bad, sharing a little of the encouragement the Apostle Paul gives to us all in ‘What I would do, I do not, and what I would not do, that I do. I mean the writing for your good. You can rest on that.’”
Steps to Joy
Here are some observations about the process of joyful living; it is just a start:
1) The essence of joy is the willingness to give yourself over to forgetfulness –the forgetfulness of self. The merchant John Wanamaker said, “The most important lesson I have learned is that I have the least trouble with myself when I’m giving myself to a worthwhile cause.” Many people fail to see joy won’t come to those who are obsessed with themselves. It never has and it never will.
2) Make other people feel sincerely valued. I sat in conversation with a truly gracious man. He unconsciously rolled a marble in his fingers while we talked. I asked if he thought I might be missing one or two and wanted to help. Embarrassed, he explained that printed on the band were the words to the Golden Rule. It reminded me every time he spoke with anyone to “make them feel important sincerely.” The words self-centered, arrogant, and proud are rarely joined in a sentence with joyful.
3) Joy comes to those who can truthfully yet humbly know they deserve respect. A retiring executive once told me, “Fred, I want to leave a better team on the field than the one I joined.” I love the story of the old man who gave an eye to a young boy so that after he was dead, the eye would keep on seeing the things he had enjoyed so much while he was living.
4) Sit loose to things. Oswald Chambers’ words have become hallmarks of spiritual growth and discipline for me. Instant gratification doesn’t lead to joy. Chambers says this attitude is summed up as “I must have it now.” Our greed for things and our envy of those who have them before us steals our joy. Confusing temporal pleasure and eternal joy leads to anxiety and apprehension. Lust and joy are not bedfellows.
5) Gratitude acknowledges our debt to others. Gratefulness lubricates relationships and brings joy. Scripture tells us “you have nothing but what you have received.” We are totally, undeniably indebted to God and to others. Gratitude is a flow through emotion: as we express it, we feel it, and as we feel it, we express it.
6) Work is essential to joy. After Thomas Edison worked sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, his wife said, “You have worked long enough without a rest. You must go on a vacation. Decide the place you would rather be than anywhere else on earth and go there.” Edison answered, “Very well, I will go there tomorrow.” The next morning he returned to the laboratory. He found joy, not escape, in work.
Think on these things: 1) Which element is my weakest link in the joy chain? 2) Where would I be if I had the “anywhere else in the world” choice? 3) How joyful am I?
Words of Wisdom: “I sincerely want my writing to be about truth and usefulness.”
Wisdom from the Word: “Worship the Lord with joy! Enter his presence with joyful singing!” (Psalm 100:1 NET Bible)