Dana’s life lived out the Prayer of Saint Francis.

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy.

O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek
to be consoled as to console,
to be understood as to understand,
to be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive,
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Amen.

Feel free to return to the Journey blog now and then to browse through Dana’s two decades of writing.  His words continue to inspire us.

Rest in peace, Dana Davis.

From a physical standpoint, sickness is a bummer. You just have to fight through it. From a spiritual standpoint, one must choose which voices to accept: ‘See Dana, you can’t go to Spain, what if this happens over there?’ Or: ‘Keep your eyes on Me and do not be afraid. I am with you and nothing transpires without My permission.’ God tells us that attaining perseverance is critical for His children.

I chose to persevere, though my blood counts were particularly bad. For a healthy person, platelet counts run from 150,000 – 400,000. Mine regularly measure 2000… which is why I get infusions twice a week. Platelets make a person’s blood clot, so when this count is low, any weak place in the body is vulnerable to bleed. A healthy person has a hemoglobin count of 12.9 – 16.1. Mine rarely hits 10. When I dip below 8, I receive a unit of blood. I was receiving one unit of blood per week.

June 20, I was feeling very weak, but I thought I could hold out one more day before going to Emory for my scheduled infusion. Susan left for work early the 21st and I made it to my car a little later and drove to Emory. Reaching the desk, I just laid my head on it and the sweet worker asked, ‘Mr. Davis, are you tired?’ They called one of my doctors to come check on me and she ordered paramedics to put me on a stretcher and take me to the ER. My hemoglobin had dropped to 4.4 and my platelets were at 1000. I called Susan and she left work to join me. Exactly two weeks before our trip, I was admitted to ICU and spent 10 days in the hospital.

‘So now what, Lord? I can’t go to Spain if I’m in the hospital.’ They discovered I was bleeding in the lower GI and I was scheduled for a colonoscopy to find the source. The procedure was partially successful, but they told me they would need to do more work later. In ICU, I made friends with several nurses and doctors. I told one nurse the second day, “My wife and I are to go to Spain in less than two weeks. Do you think you could let people know I need to get out of here as soon as possible?” Word spread quickly.

So many nurses peeked in to tell me they were praying for our trip. Of course, some were a little worried, but they were all encouraging. The wise, kind, experienced ICU doctor, who visited me every morning, shared interesting advice on the 6th day, before I was moved to another floor. “Mr. Davis, I would advise this regarding your trip to Spain: weigh the risks. Weigh the risk of going out of the country with a weakened body and weigh the risk of not going.” Since I still felt God wanted us to go, the risk of not going meant not trusting our Heavenly Father. He has protected me all over the world and most of the time I feel better in another county than I do in the States. The risk of choosing ‘my understanding’ over ‘trusting the Lord’ was something I did not want to take. I was thankful for the doctor’s advice.

Finally, I was released from Emory on Thursday, June 30. We were to depart Tuesday, July 5. Susan and I were still in unity. I contacted our missionary friends and confirmed our time of arrival in Barcelona. It looked like many prayers were being answered.

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him and He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

“You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised.” Hebrews 10:36

I see truth in this statement IF God is first in the coach’s life… then the important things stay the important things. On a team, the players are far more important than a record… just as in life, a spouse and kids and loved ones are far more important than any professional accomplishment. A unified team that cares for one another, works hard AND honors God shines brightly in today’s world. A person who is honest, who works hard, who treats others with kindness AND who lives for Jesus ‘shines like a star in the universe.’

In a season, as in life, there are highs and lows. The highs should not make one arrogant or complacent and the lows should not destroy. A coach and team must learn to persevere, as do all followers of Jesus. At the end of a season, a coach wants to be able to honestly say: ‘We gave our all; we did our best.’ At the end of life, we just want to hear our Heavenly Father say: ‘Well done My good and faithful servant.’

“Taylor, I need to think about this. In your analogy, I guess I’m in the fourth quarter.” He replied, “Dad, you’ve been in overtime for the past ten years!” Not coaching now, dreams of constant fellowship with God bring much more joy than thoughts of competition. So here’s my prayer:

‘Heavenly Father, You knew the number of my days before I was born. Let me trust You with all my heart and lean not on my own understanding. Let me acknowledge You in everything and walk Your straight path. Holy Spirit, please work powerfully in me. Remind me of Jesus and His words each day. I want the mind of Christ. Lead me into truth; let me live a disciplined life; do not let me stumble. Dear Jesus, I want to run my race the way You ran Yours… in perfect fellowship with Your Father. Despite the criticisms and opposition, You gave Your all and won the victory. Let me remember that I am in You and You are in me. Amen.’

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” I Corinthians 9:24-27

“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

“I don’t like anything here at all,” said Frodo, “step or stone, breath or bone. Earth, air, and water all seem accursed. But so our path is laid.”

“Yes, that’s so,” said Sam. “And we shouldn’t be here at all, if we’d known more about it before we started. But I suppose it’s often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think they were the things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport as you might say. But that is not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have just landed in them, usually — their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t…”

Despite a lack of comprehension, Frodo the Ringbearer, knew he had a destiny and was compelled to reach it… though he wasn’t so sure he could. Sam, his faithful servant, understood even less, yet knew he would do his best to help his friend to the very end.

Three times in the book of Revelation, Jesus refers to Himself as ‘the Alpha and the Omega,’ the Beginning and the End. He, too, walked this earth as a human, listening to a Spirit He could not see and trusting His Father completely. Jesus knew His destiny, but along the way there would be much misunderstanding, accusation, rejection, and sorrow. Thank God, He did not turn back.

Our vision is often cloudy as we follow our Master. Oswald Chambers, born in Aberdeen Scotland in 1874 and dying in 1917 in Cairo, Egypt while serving as chaplain for WWI soldiers, often articulated the beauty of our Lord while examining challenges of the journey.

From The Missionary’s Goal:

In our natural life our ambitions change as we grow, but in the Christian life the goal is given at the very beginning, and the beginning and the end are the same, namely, our Lord Himself. We start with Christ and we end with Him – ‘… till we all come… to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ…,’ not simply to our own idea of what the Christian life should be. The goal of the missionary is to do God’s will…

From The Big Compelling of God:

Jerusalem stands in the life of our Lord as the place where He reached the climax of His Father’s will. ‘I seek not Mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent Me.’ That was the one dominating interest all through our Lord’s life, and the things He met with on the way, joy or sorrow, success or failure, never deterred Him from His purpose. ‘He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.’ The great thing to remember is that we go up to Jerusalem to fulfil God’s purpose, not our own. Naturally, our ambitions are our own; in the Christian life we have no aim of our own. There is so much said today about our decisions for Christ, our determination to be Christians, our decisions for this and that, but in the New Testament it is the aspect of God’s compelling that is brought out. ‘Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you.’

From The Discipline of Dismay:

At the beginning we were sure we knew all about Jesus Christ, it was a delight to sell all and to fling ourselves out in hardihood of love; but now we are not quite so sure. Jesus is on in front and He looks strange. ‘Jesus went on before them and they were amazed.’ There is an aspect of Jesus that chills the heart of a disciple to the core and makes the whole spiritual life gasp for breath. This strange Being with His face set like flint and His striding determination strikes terror into me. He is no longer Counsellor and Comrade, He is taken up with a point of view I know nothing about, and I am amazed at Him. At first I was confident that I understood Him, but now I am not so sure… When the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come the ability to follow Jesus truly, which brings inexpressibly wonderful joy.

Give up control; fix your eyes on Jesus; run with perseverance; don’t turn back. Be victorious!

“He said to me: ‘It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.’” Revelation 21:6-7

“… let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfector of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” Hebrews 12:1-3

‘The Two Towers’ by J. R. R. Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin Company, ©1954

‘My Utmost For His Highest’ by Oswald Chambers, Dodd, Mead & Company, ©1935

These are goals God has for me in 2021. My resolutions tend to fizzle, but the Holy Spirit’s desires are solid and true. He wants us all to grow in the Son. “We all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into His image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (II Corinthians 3:18)

As we contemplate; as we focus; as we praise; as we trust; as we fall more and more in love with our Savior… we are transformed into His image. Jesus entrusted Himself to His Father and was guided by the Spirit while on this earth. “He learned obedience through the things He suffered…” (Hebrews 5:8) If the perfect Chosen One ‘learned obedience,’ will not our loving Father teach us? And if suffering is a part of the plan… so be it.

As much as we as parents hate to see our children face difficulty or fall or suffer, we know deep down that hardship teaches perseverance and perseverance brings maturity. The child who never learns to fight through tough circumstances or never struggles to get back up after failing or one who refuses to accept discipline or correction can never reach his or her potential. If God permitted Jesus to go through difficulty to prepare Him for His ultimate purpose, I should not shrink back from my trials. Rather, I must draw close to God.

The writer of Hebrews says faith brings ‘full assurance.’ The Father wants us to live in ‘full assurance’… keeping in mind these divine truths:

• Our time on earth is short… eternity is forever.
• Jesus has saved us… and God has called us His children. And that is what we are!
• The Father is for us… who can be against us?
• Absolutely nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
• As we abide in Christ (the Vine) and He abides in us (the branches), He will produce fruit.
• God is faithful!

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened up for us through the curtain, that is His Body, and since we have a Great High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” Hebrews 10:19-23