WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.719 Today, I picked up a little red book that I'd 00:00:05.719 --> 00:00:08.619 had for years and years. And when I opened it, 00:00:08.720 --> 00:00:15.300 I found that in the back of it, I had written 00:00:15.300 --> 00:00:22.440 some things that I'm wondering now whether I 00:00:22.440 --> 00:00:27.760 fully understood what I was writing when I wrote. 00:00:28.679 --> 00:00:31.500 the words in this book when I was not more than 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:37.159 16, 17 years of age. I'm sure I could not have 00:00:37.159 --> 00:00:44.340 been more than 17 when I wrote these words in 00:00:44.340 --> 00:00:49.840 the back of this little book. I shall read them 00:00:49.840 --> 00:00:56.000 to you. Whether life grinds a man down or polishes 00:00:56.000 --> 00:01:03.990 him, depends on what he's made of. A diamond 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:08.950 cannot be polished without friction, nor man 00:01:08.950 --> 00:01:17.709 perfected without trials. And the third quotation 00:01:17.709 --> 00:01:20.709 that I wrote in the back of this little book 00:01:20.709 --> 00:01:27.900 with these words. Great pilots. are made in rough 00:01:27.900 --> 00:01:36.780 waters and deep seas. When I closed the book 00:01:36.780 --> 00:01:44.700 an hour ago, I turned back the pages of my life. 00:01:46.180 --> 00:01:49.819 Years have come and years have gone since the 00:01:49.819 --> 00:01:55.870 day that I wrote those words. And I can bear 00:01:55.870 --> 00:02:00.629 witness the fact that every word that I wrote 00:02:00.629 --> 00:02:09.650 that day is true. I feel that I am the person 00:02:09.650 --> 00:02:17.870 that I am today because of those deep waters. 00:02:21.949 --> 00:02:28.189 the sunshine of my life, but the storms, the 00:02:28.189 --> 00:02:36.250 winds, the gales. And I'll say to you without 00:02:36.250 --> 00:02:40.210 fear of contradiction, it's true. When these 00:02:40.210 --> 00:02:47.569 things come into your life, it depends on what 00:02:47.569 --> 00:02:51.090 you're made of. Whether you're going to permit 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:54.659 These things to defeat you or whether you're 00:02:54.659 --> 00:03:00.819 going to use them for the glory of God. Something 00:03:00.819 --> 00:03:04.639 will happen to you. You want to know something? 00:03:04.960 --> 00:03:08.500 One of the greatest secrets of this life is to 00:03:08.500 --> 00:03:15.560 know how to have real power in one's life. Power 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:19.159 over one's difficulties. Because sooner or later, 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:21.819 You're going to have difficulties. There will 00:03:21.819 --> 00:03:26.400 be trouble. There will be storms. The sun isn't 00:03:26.400 --> 00:03:30.439 going to shine forever in your life. As surely 00:03:30.439 --> 00:03:36.659 as there's sunshine, some rain must fall in every 00:03:36.659 --> 00:03:45.900 life. Perhaps not today. Perhaps those storms 00:03:45.900 --> 00:03:49.650 have not yet come. But if you are a part of humanity, 00:03:50.069 --> 00:03:57.830 they will come. The reaction of the individual, 00:03:58.110 --> 00:04:05.590 your reaction, my reaction to difficulty marks 00:04:05.590 --> 00:04:08.550 the kind of man that you are and the kind of 00:04:08.550 --> 00:04:13.389 person that I am. And it's just like that. Washington 00:04:13.389 --> 00:04:18.360 Irving once said, little minds are... tamed and 00:04:18.360 --> 00:04:25.259 subdued by misfortune. But great minds rise above 00:04:25.259 --> 00:04:33.620 it. And it's true. Little minds, little people, 00:04:33.819 --> 00:04:38.279 oh, I'm not talking about in stature. Little 00:04:38.279 --> 00:04:45.199 minds, little people are tamed and subdued, defeated. 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:51.040 by misfortune. But great minds, great hearts, 00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:59.800 great faith, great people, big people, rise above 00:04:59.800 --> 00:05:03.079 it. There was one man who had a great influence 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:08.139 in my father's life. I can truthfully say that 00:05:08.139 --> 00:05:12.560 Dr. Downing, a Baptist missionary, was the only 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:16.939 preacher that I... can think of who ever had 00:05:16.939 --> 00:05:23.600 any real religious influence in my papa's life. 00:05:24.259 --> 00:05:29.100 And Dr. Downing used to say, the storms bring 00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:34.259 out the eagles, but the little birds take the 00:05:34.259 --> 00:05:42.180 cover. Uh -huh. Old papa used to like that. The 00:05:42.180 --> 00:05:49.240 storms. Bring out the eagles. But it's the little 00:05:49.240 --> 00:05:54.379 birds who take the cover. I guess that's one 00:05:54.379 --> 00:05:57.360 reason why I never wanted to be a little bird. 00:05:58.860 --> 00:06:01.480 You know, some of these things make a profound 00:06:01.480 --> 00:06:06.660 impression on a youngster's life. Oh, sure. Ah, 00:06:06.819 --> 00:06:09.790 I've never forgotten his words. I have never 00:06:09.790 --> 00:06:12.149 forgotten these things. I've never forgotten 00:06:12.149 --> 00:06:14.790 the great influence that Dr. Downing had on Papa's 00:06:14.790 --> 00:06:18.649 life. And the great influence that he had on 00:06:18.649 --> 00:06:21.250 my Papa's life carried over to Papa's daughter. 00:06:23.730 --> 00:06:27.589 And I never wanted to be one of the little birds 00:06:27.589 --> 00:06:33.209 who rushed to cover as soon as the lightning 00:06:33.209 --> 00:06:36.709 began to strike and you heard the thunder and 00:06:36.709 --> 00:06:43.939 the storms. began in one's life, no. Troubles, 00:06:43.939 --> 00:06:48.680 you know, are the best test to a person's character 00:06:48.680 --> 00:06:53.420 that I know anything about. There's some folks 00:06:53.420 --> 00:06:57.500 that you think you know very well. You are sure 00:06:57.500 --> 00:07:01.540 you know all about them. You are definitely sure 00:07:01.540 --> 00:07:05.959 that you could trust them under any and all circumstances. 00:07:07.180 --> 00:07:10.339 And you say to someone in confidence, I know 00:07:10.339 --> 00:07:13.540 all about her. I know her perhaps better than 00:07:13.540 --> 00:07:17.399 she knows herself. And yet, you come to find 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:23.079 out that you really do not know that person until 00:07:23.079 --> 00:07:31.199 troubles come into that life. And troubles are 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:37.139 the best test to a person's real character. that 00:07:37.139 --> 00:07:39.680 I know anything about. When you see how a person 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:43.240 reacts to troubles, when you see how a person 00:07:43.240 --> 00:07:49.180 reacts to disappointments, some will pout. Some 00:07:49.180 --> 00:07:51.740 that you thought were so big and so strong, you 00:07:51.740 --> 00:07:56.100 admired so much, you'll find that suddenly they 00:07:56.100 --> 00:08:00.399 become a very small person. They almost shrivel 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:03.199 up before your very eyes. You're disappointed. 00:08:04.560 --> 00:08:07.699 Oh, it's easy to smile. As long as the sun is 00:08:07.699 --> 00:08:11.939 shining. It's easy to sing when the paycheck 00:08:11.939 --> 00:08:15.860 is coming in. It's easy to be happy when everything 00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:19.439 is going your way. It's easy to be a big person. 00:08:20.040 --> 00:08:25.860 To be a lovely creature. When everything's going 00:08:25.860 --> 00:08:30.959 your way, how will that same person react when 00:08:30.959 --> 00:08:37.210 the paycheck isn't coming in? When the waters 00:08:37.210 --> 00:08:41.970 are deep. When there's an open casket. When a 00:08:41.970 --> 00:08:46.169 loved one has been taken. When they do not get 00:08:46.169 --> 00:08:52.049 their own way. How will they react under those 00:08:52.049 --> 00:08:59.049 circumstances? And it's just like that. Do you 00:08:59.049 --> 00:09:02.450 want to know something? One of the mistaken ideas 00:09:02.450 --> 00:09:07.000 of this present generation is that Difficulties 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:15.679 are something bad. Something unsocial. We're 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:19.500 not supposed to have difficulties. We're supposed 00:09:19.500 --> 00:09:23.759 to close our eyes and our minds to difficulties. 00:09:24.740 --> 00:09:30.259 You talk about difficulties these days. And we've 00:09:30.259 --> 00:09:33.700 gotten to the place that we do not want to face 00:09:33.700 --> 00:09:39.590 facts. That difficulties are something that are 00:09:39.590 --> 00:09:44.070 unsocial. That the government should take care 00:09:44.070 --> 00:09:47.330 of everybody, feed everybody, get jobs for everybody, 00:09:47.610 --> 00:09:53.210 keep everybody. If you don't want to work, you 00:09:53.210 --> 00:09:58.970 don't have to work. If you'd rather stay home 00:09:58.970 --> 00:10:06.850 than work, then stay home. Just do what you want. 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:09.360 to do. Now remember something, don't get me wrong. 00:10:10.200 --> 00:10:14.860 I believe in helping the unfortunate. You know 00:10:14.860 --> 00:10:17.840 that I do. Don't you dare misconstrue anything 00:10:17.840 --> 00:10:20.100 that I say in this heart -to -heart talk today. 00:10:21.320 --> 00:10:31.240 I believe in helping the unfortunate. But the 00:10:31.240 --> 00:10:38.299 take -care -of -everybody philosophy is of doubtful 00:10:38.299 --> 00:10:50.779 value. We are making a lot of lazy people out 00:10:50.779 --> 00:10:58.960 of a lot of Americans who should be busy five 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:07.710 days a week. I was taught to work. Work was the 00:11:07.710 --> 00:11:13.389 best cure for a man's sicknesses and ills and 00:11:13.389 --> 00:11:20.289 disappointments that there was in the world. 00:11:21.870 --> 00:11:25.769 I'll tell you, when I was a kid, and that's been 00:11:25.769 --> 00:11:31.710 a long time ago, we didn't have aspirin. We didn't 00:11:31.710 --> 00:11:38.080 have Sedrin. We didn't have all these different 00:11:38.080 --> 00:11:42.980 kinds of pills. Dear old Dr. Schreiman didn't 00:11:42.980 --> 00:11:48.679 know what all these pills and all these pills 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:55.080 that we have today. He didn't know anything about 00:11:55.080 --> 00:12:00.830 them. In Concordia, Missouri. And Concordia was 00:12:00.830 --> 00:12:05.570 mostly made up of German Lutheran people. If 00:12:05.570 --> 00:12:07.669 you got up in the morning and you didn't feel 00:12:07.669 --> 00:12:11.769 good, do you want to know what we folk did back 00:12:11.769 --> 00:12:15.450 in Concordia, Missouri? We were taught that the 00:12:15.450 --> 00:12:17.669 worse that you felt, the harder you worked that 00:12:17.669 --> 00:12:22.909 day. Get to work. Get to work fast. Papa used 00:12:22.909 --> 00:12:25.850 to say, well, work it off, honey. Just work it 00:12:25.850 --> 00:12:31.600 off. And Mama used to say, that's all right, 00:12:31.720 --> 00:12:35.940 honey. You just take the scrub brush and you 00:12:35.940 --> 00:12:39.299 start scrubbing the sidewalks. It won't be long. 00:12:39.539 --> 00:12:43.080 You'll feel better. Well, even the thoughts of 00:12:43.080 --> 00:12:49.000 that scrub brush cured me so fast it wasn't even 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:55.419 funny. Isn't it like that? Yeah? One of the greatest 00:12:55.419 --> 00:13:00.039 things in the world is self -reliance. The ability 00:13:00.039 --> 00:13:05.019 to turn difficulties to advantage. When one has 00:13:05.019 --> 00:13:09.159 lost his self -reliance, has lost his confidence 00:13:09.159 --> 00:13:15.080 in himself, he has automatically hoisted the 00:13:15.080 --> 00:13:19.240 white flag of surrender to defeat. Don't do it. 00:13:20.580 --> 00:13:25.019 Don't. Don't you ever in your life ever hoist 00:13:25.019 --> 00:13:30.279 the white flag of defeat. Don't you do it. You 00:13:30.279 --> 00:13:33.720 grab the old scrub brush and you start scrubbing. 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:40.779 You start grabbing the old spade and you start 00:13:40.779 --> 00:13:45.620 spading. You get hold of that pan of dirty dishes 00:13:45.620 --> 00:13:49.879 and you start washing. And it's just like that. 00:13:51.850 --> 00:13:55.970 Don't ever hoist that white flag of defeat or 00:13:55.970 --> 00:14:02.090 anything in the world. Keep fighting. Keep fighting. 00:14:03.190 --> 00:14:07.409 Whether life grinds a man down or polishes him 00:14:07.409 --> 00:14:14.850 depends on what he's made of. Men and women need 00:14:14.850 --> 00:14:20.289 difficulties to teach them to survive. I stress 00:14:20.289 --> 00:14:24.789 this point because many have the idea that there's 00:14:24.789 --> 00:14:28.389 something wrong with struggle. That there's something 00:14:28.389 --> 00:14:35.990 old -fashioned about hard work. Something antisocial 00:14:35.990 --> 00:14:40.610 about effort. Something wrong with enterprise. 00:14:40.750 --> 00:14:42.769 I don't know what has happened to this generation. 00:14:43.389 --> 00:14:47.429 I tell you frankly, it's something that's in 00:14:47.429 --> 00:14:51.070 the atmosphere. Literally, we've gotten to the 00:14:51.070 --> 00:14:53.809 place where this generation feels like there's 00:14:53.809 --> 00:14:57.070 something wrong with struggle. There's something 00:14:57.070 --> 00:15:00.970 wrong with hard work. There's something wrong 00:15:00.970 --> 00:15:05.610 with you. If you work hard, 8, 9, 10, 12 hours 00:15:05.610 --> 00:15:08.409 a day, they look at you and you think that you're 00:15:08.409 --> 00:15:11.809 of another generation. That literally you're 00:15:11.809 --> 00:15:15.009 a little off on your rocker when you say that 00:15:15.009 --> 00:15:19.570 you work 14 hours a day. Under their breath, 00:15:19.629 --> 00:15:26.269 they say, he's nuts. It's a little crazy. The 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:30.370 other day, I was studying a picture that I saw 00:15:30.370 --> 00:15:34.450 of Abraham Lincoln, and I stood wondering to 00:15:34.450 --> 00:15:40.950 myself why Lincoln was born. To save the Union? 00:15:42.830 --> 00:15:50.320 To do away with slavery? Certainly. Yes, this 00:15:50.320 --> 00:15:55.059 man's life, in my opinion, was the greatest life 00:15:55.059 --> 00:16:00.639 ever lived in the United States of America. Perhaps 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:04.379 the greatest reason that he was set among us 00:16:04.379 --> 00:16:08.820 was to show Americans through all history that 00:16:08.820 --> 00:16:15.580 they can rise above all... difficulties and make 00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:21.100 men of themselves by trusting God. You don't 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:26.639 have to be defeated. You don't have to go down 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:31.720 and defeat. You were born for a purpose. You 00:16:31.720 --> 00:16:36.200 have a work to do. The word of God says unto 00:16:36.200 --> 00:16:44.929 every man his work. Why were you born? Why were 00:16:44.929 --> 00:16:52.690 you put into this world? There's a reason. The 00:16:52.690 --> 00:16:55.850 American people must never get to the point where 00:16:55.850 --> 00:16:59.789 they are unwilling to go out and wrestle with 00:16:59.789 --> 00:17:04.369 life. Don't you as an individual ever get to 00:17:04.369 --> 00:17:10.130 the point whether you are a teenager whether 00:17:10.130 --> 00:17:15.589 you are in your 20s, your 30s. You may even be 00:17:15.589 --> 00:17:19.670 at the age where they have put you on the retired 00:17:19.670 --> 00:17:26.269 list. But don't you ever, whatever age you are, 00:17:26.410 --> 00:17:31.950 get to the place where you are unwilling to go 00:17:31.950 --> 00:17:38.089 out and wrestle with life. Look old difficulty 00:17:38.089 --> 00:17:42.130 right in the face. Walk up to it and say, I'm 00:17:42.130 --> 00:17:46.890 glad to see you. I'm glad to see you. And then 00:17:46.890 --> 00:17:53.910 add, God sent you to make a stronger person out 00:17:53.910 --> 00:18:02.650 of me. God sent you to make a stronger, a better 00:18:02.650 --> 00:18:11.529 person out of me right now. Stop. Pray for a 00:18:11.529 --> 00:18:18.690 proper philosophy of difficulty. If you're suffering 00:18:18.690 --> 00:18:22.509 pain, if you're in difficulty, if you haven't 00:18:22.509 --> 00:18:30.390 enough money, if the job is gone, or maybe you 00:18:30.390 --> 00:18:35.589 don't even have a job, get down on your knees. 00:18:36.190 --> 00:18:41.650 and ask God Almighty to help you. But don't you 00:18:41.650 --> 00:18:46.509 dare raise the white flag of defeat. Don't you 00:18:46.509 --> 00:18:52.049 do it. No man, no woman, no person needs ever 00:18:52.049 --> 00:18:55.390 go down in defeat unless he consents to that 00:18:55.390 --> 00:18:58.650 defeat. I can turn back the pages in my life. 00:18:59.650 --> 00:19:03.150 And there's certain milestones I can put my finger 00:19:03.150 --> 00:19:08.869 on them. I know exactly the day, the hour when 00:19:08.869 --> 00:19:14.309 I could have gone down in defeat. I know the 00:19:14.309 --> 00:19:20.049 places. I know the times. I know the cities. 00:19:21.210 --> 00:19:24.789 I know the happenings. I know the crisis in my 00:19:24.789 --> 00:19:29.410 life. When I could have put up that white flag 00:19:29.410 --> 00:19:36.140 of defeat. I could have gone down and have been 00:19:36.140 --> 00:19:42.160 defeated by my own self -pity. I've gone through 00:19:42.160 --> 00:19:44.000 the storms as the reason I can talk to you the 00:19:44.000 --> 00:19:46.920 way I am talking to you this hour. I know what 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:53.279 I'm talking about. I wouldn't be where I am this 00:19:53.279 --> 00:19:57.980 very hour had it not been for the disappointments, 00:19:57.980 --> 00:20:04.099 had it not been for the storms. But I'd made 00:20:04.099 --> 00:20:06.160 up my mind I wasn't going to be one of those 00:20:06.160 --> 00:20:11.539 little birds that ran for shelter the first time 00:20:11.539 --> 00:20:19.319 the wind started to blow. I could not have done 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:23.740 it myself. But when I made the effort, God was 00:20:23.740 --> 00:20:27.759 there to help me. And when you pray, you get 00:20:27.759 --> 00:20:32.589 power. Because you get into a stream of power, 00:20:32.910 --> 00:20:37.710 his power. And I assure you that there is a stream 00:20:37.710 --> 00:20:41.109 of power flowing across this universe. And as 00:20:41.109 --> 00:20:45.890 you make contact with it, God's wonderful power, 00:20:46.089 --> 00:20:48.910 he'll give you the victory, he'll give you the 00:20:48.910 --> 00:20:52.789 healing. You can feel it, you can know it. It 00:20:52.789 --> 00:20:56.809 has a great lifting force. All that you have 00:20:56.809 --> 00:20:59.990 to do is yield yourself to God. Ask Him to take 00:20:59.990 --> 00:21:03.589 care of you. Ask Him to take care of those things 00:21:03.589 --> 00:21:09.269 in your life that are bigger than you. And you'll 00:21:09.269 --> 00:21:13.390 soon find yourself being lifted above all obstacles, 00:21:13.730 --> 00:21:20.410 all storms, all difficulties. I realize that 00:21:20.410 --> 00:21:28.029 many people may not... have had much contact 00:21:28.029 --> 00:21:32.049 with the dynamic concept of the Christian faith. 00:21:32.950 --> 00:21:37.150 I wish you would try to understand because your 00:21:37.150 --> 00:21:40.849 very life may depend on this. If you'll start 00:21:40.849 --> 00:21:45.109 to pray, if you'll start to read the Bible, if 00:21:45.109 --> 00:21:47.210 you'll start to yield yourself to the Lord Jesus 00:21:47.210 --> 00:21:52.809 Christ, I tell you as surely as there's a God 00:21:52.809 --> 00:21:58.630 on his throne. that the most incredible, astounding 00:21:58.630 --> 00:22:03.490 things will happen to you. You'll gain amazing 00:22:03.490 --> 00:22:08.789 victories over obstacles in a way that you never 00:22:08.789 --> 00:22:15.950 dreamed possible. And remember, whether life 00:22:15.950 --> 00:22:24.140 grinds a man down or polishes him, depends on 00:22:24.140 --> 00:22:26.319 what he is made of.