A bartender was hired to work in one of the
toughest towns in the old west. The saloon owner gave him only one piece of
advice: “If you ever hear that Big John is coming to town, drop everything
you’re doing and run for cover.”
One day, a cowhand rushed into the bar and yelled, “Big John is coming!” Immediately the saloon emptied with people jumping out of doors and windows. In the rush of the crowd, the bartender was knocked down. When he got up, he saw a giant man with a black, bushy beard ride up on a buffalo, using a rattlesnake for a whip.
The man tore both doors off the hinges and walked into the saloon. With a single blow of his massive fist, he split the bar in half. He grabbed the bartender by the neck and demanded, “Give me a drink.”
The bartender nervously pushed a bottle to the man. He broke the neck off with his teeth, downed it in one gulp, and smashed the bottle into the mirror. As the gigantic intruder turned to leave, the bartender asked, “Another drink, mister?” The stranger said, “No, I’ve got to get out of here. Big John is coming!”
We’ve all been through situations where we thought Big John had shown up, but Big John was still coming. Big John might be unemployment, a serious health problem, a financial problem, or a strained relationship. Fear always makes the problem bigger than it really is.
It doesn’t matter how
big your problem may be, God is BIGGER, more powerful, and able to solve it. He
says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will
strengthen you, surely I will help you” (Isa. 41:10).
Don’t
let your fears cause you to run from your problems. Put your trust in Almighty
God to whom every knee will bow. Instead of saying, “Big John is coming!” say,
“My God is bigger than Big John, He is with me, and I’ll get through
this.”
