The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Thursday, June 4, 2020.

He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have put our hope that he will continue to deliver us… 2 Corinthians 1:10

A Good Memory  

I will never forget June 14, 1998. I was standing in the Washington National Airport waiting on a delayed flight to Houston, watching a basketball game. It was on that evening that Michael Jordan made the jump shot that will live on highlight reels forever. Jordan had the ball at the top of the key and started left while being covered by Byron Russell. That is when I looked at the friend I was traveling with and said the game is over, Bulls win. Jordan then went left, stopped short, and Russell kept going. Jordan then pulled up and sank the jumper that sealed championship number six for the Bulls. My friend looked at me and said, “How did you know that?”

It’s really simple. I had seen this happen already. It was not that I am clairvoyant or that I have a crystal ball, I just have a good memory. I remembered that on May 7, 1989, Michael Jordan did the same thing to Craig Ehlo. The ball was inbounded to Jordan, he went left, stopped short, and  Craig Ehlo kept going. Jordan pulled up at the foul line and sank a perfect jump shot sending the Bulls to the next round of the playoffs. On June 14, 1998, I simply remembered that nine years earlier, when the Bulls needed him Michael Jordan delivered so there was no reason to believe he wouldn’t do it again.

Friends, when you are in a desperate situation, you can rest assured that everything will be alright. You don’t have to worry or be afraid, you just have to remember. Remember the last time you were in trouble. Remember what happened. God looked down, saw your need, and came through for you. If he did it before, he can do it again. God will never leave you or forsake you. He will always show up and deliver you. So don’t live in fear and don’t worry about the future, just know, if he did it before, he can do it again.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Wednesday, June 3, 2020.

You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Psalm 32:7

Hide and Seek 

As a child, I used to love playing hide and seek. While I was not the best at seeking, I was excellent at hiding. While most of my friends could be found in a matter of moments, I was rarely found before the called “Olly Olly oxen free.” You see, I had a secret to hiding that made sure I was never found. It was quite simple, always hide in a place where you were fully covered.

What I noticed when I was on the seeking end of hide and seek was most people hiding assumed that if they couldn’t see you, then you couldn’t see them. The problem was that it only meant your eyes were entirely hidden. There might have been an arm hanging out in plain sight, or your shoes were visible under the drapes, or any of a million other things were still observable even though you were hidden. So when I hid, I always found a place where I could put all of me, and I would just get comfortable and wait for the sign that all was clear before I came out.

Friends, there are times that we all need a good hiding place. We need somewhere to hide not because we are playing a game, but because we are just tired and need to recharge. There are moments in life when you are at your wit’s end, and you just can’t take it anymore. What you want is somewhere where you can’t be found so that you can catch your breath, regroup, and get away from it all. It is in those times that we have to run to the Lord. When you run to the Lord, he will hide you from the world that is closing in on you. In the safety of his arms, you will find rest, protection, and solace. So when the world seems like it is chasing you down, play a little hide and seek. Seek the Lord’s face and let him hide you.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Wednesday, June 3, 2020.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from the love of God. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears of today nor our worries about tomorrow, not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. Romans 8:38

Separation Anxiety

Most mornings, when I have to leave for work, I have to sneak out of the house. It is not because I live in a bad neighborhood or because I am afraid of waking anyone as I exit. I have to sneak out of the house because of my dog, Rocky. I love my puppy Rocky, and he loves me, but whenever I am about to leave the house, Rock tries to go with me. If he sees me putting on a coat and shoes, he walks behind me and then positions himself by the door to try and leave with me when I open the door. Once I am outside, Rocky sits by the window with the most pitiful look on his face as I drive away. When I come back, no matter how long I have been gone, Rocky runs to the door and greets me as if I have been gone for years, and he’s glad I made it back from war.

One day I asked Rocky’s vet why he does this. She told me it was just a pinch of separation anxiety. When I leave, Rocky wants to go with me because he is afraid that I will forget about him and not come back. He is worried that the last time he sees me will be the last time he sees me. Even though we have a great relationship, and I always come back, there is a part of Rocky that is convinced that my leaving means that I may forget him and may not love him anymore.

Friends, there are times when we look at the world, and it is easy to have some separation anxiety with God. We can look at the turmoil and the chaos and begin to wonder if God still loves us. I want to assure you today that no matter what, God loves us. Even when it seems like the world is falling apart, or when our circumstances make us wonder where God is, He loves us. We know this because all of us had had times when things looked bad, but God has always shown up for us. So even if you feel separated from God and occasionally get a little anxious, always know, God loves you.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Wednesday, June 3, 2020.

I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Psalm 27:13

Keeps Me Going

When I was in High School in New York, one of the things I looked forward to every year was participating in Walk America. Walk America was an event held across the nation in late April sponsored by the March of Dimes to raise money for healthy moms and strong babies. It was a fantastic cause, and people from all across the city would turn out to walk and volunteer for a great cause. If you walked in the event, you would ask people to pledge money for every mile you walked, and in the end, you got a t-shirt for your participation. There was just one problem with Walk America, you had to walk really, really far and I hated walking.

As much as I wanted to participate and enjoyed hanging out with friends while we walked, I am not a walker. I am perfectly happy to walk to get from one place to another, but to walk recreationally was not my thing. So as we walked, I had to find a way to keep myself going. I would spend some of the time telling jokes, other time socializing, and if I’m being honest doing a bit of flirting, but that only got me through the first mile and a half or so. To make it the full distance of the walk, I needed something motivating me. No matter how long the walk or how tired I got, I kept going because I wanted my t-shirt at the end. I knew that if I finished the walk, I would have the t-shirt at the end to prove it, and that kept me going.

Friends, there are going to be times in life when you want to give up. There will be times when you are tired, frustrated, heartbroken, or just at the end of your rope, but don’t give up. In the times that you feel like you want to throw in the towel, focus on the end. Focus on what comes after this. We all have to remember that God is still in charge and that if we keep going, we will see the goodness of God in the land of the living. God promises us that if we keep going, he will show up. So in times of trial, crisis and frustration focus on the fact that God will show up if we just keep going.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Friday, May 29, 2020.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

Every Day

Have you ever had one of those days? You know the type of day I am talking about. That day when everything that could go wrong found a way to go wrong. That day when you wanted to give up, throw in the towel, and quit. That day when you could not wait for it to be over. Those types of days are inevitable, and we have all had them. The question is, what did you do the next day. Did you carry that day with you, or did you let it go?

Many of us have been carrying the same bad day around for weeks and years. It was the flashpoint in our lives that changed everything going forward. For some of us, it was the loss of a loved one, and we were never the same again. For others, it was a break-up or a divorce that changed us from that day forward. In other cases, it was being passed over for a promotion at work, or an insult that stayed under our skin and shapes how we see the world and ourselves every day. No matter what it was, or how much it hurt, you have to leave that day behind you and move forward.

Friends, every new day, we have the opportunity to choose what we will make of it. We can either continue what happened yesterday or forge a brighter path into today. The best way to forge that path into a new future is with a renewed mind. When we renew our minds, we make a choice to not let the failures or pains of the path define us, and to look forward to the bright possibilities of the future. Every day that the Lord gives you breath begin that day by renewing your mind. Let the past go, don’t take up what the world is doing, and focus on the will of God. Some days this is the only way you are going to make it through.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Thursday, May 28, 2020.

Do not revile the king even in your thoughts, or curse the rich in your bedroom, because a bird in the sky may carry your words, and a bird on the wing may report what you say. Ecclesiastes 10:20

It Will Come Out

“It depends on how you define fat.” Those were the words that ignited the worst fight that I have ever witnessed in my life. I was picking up a buddy and his wife for a double date, and they were running late. So I was sitting in their living room when his wife came down in her outfit and asked her husband he fateful question that would start it all, “Does this make me look fat?” We were sitting on the couch, and he mumbled, “It depends on how you define fat.” It wasn’t meant for me to hear, let alone for her to hear, but she did, and I did. And they were off to the races. I had never wanted to disappear from a room more in my life, but I was trapped. Needless to say, we didn’t make it to our double date that night. A week or two later, I asked that friend what on earth he was thinking when he said that to his wife. He told me, “It just slipped out.” “

We have all had moments when things just slipped out, but what we often missed is that it didn’t just slip out. It came from somewhere. When things just slip out, they are typically things that we have said, or thought before, but were not for public consumption. They were living in our heads and our hearts, but we figured we could just keep them there. The only problem is if you think it long enough, or say it in private long enough, one day it will come out in public for all to hear.

Friends, the thoughts that live in your mind will eventually come out of your mouth. The more you think them, the closer they come to public light. The best way to not slip and say something is to not think it at all. Take control of your thoughts so your mind is clear and your heart is pure. When we do this, we don’t have to worry about what slips out, because we don’t mind people hearing what is on the inside.

Be Blessed,

Rev

The Daily Dose with Dr. Daryl L. Williams

A Word every day to get you on your way!

Here is the Daily Dose for Wednesday, May 27, 2020.

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave on the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. He’s a double-minded man, and unstable in all his ways. James 1:8

All In

My high school track coach was an amazing man. He was tough but caring, encouraging, but demanding, and we always knew that he cared about the members of the team. But the singular thing that made him a great coach was that we were all terrified of him. It was not that he was mean or stern; he just seemed to be omnipresent. Whenever we were about to do something that we should not have been doing, he just seemed to pop up out of nowhere and remind us of what we should be doing. Sneaking a slice of pizza the week of a meet? He seemed to pop up. Considering cutting class? He seemed to just pop by and ask which class you were “on your way to.” Being ubiquitous had to be exhausting for him.

One day Coach sat the whole team down for a talk. He was not one for the rousing speeches, so we knew this was important. He said, “You guys should all just quit.” Not exactly what you are expecting to hear from your coach. He continued, “If you guys are not going to be all in, just quit now. Until you make up your mind that this is what you want to do, you’re all off the team.” He literally sent us home and told us to come back when we were serious. The next day, we all came back, but something had changed. For the rest of the season, we were a better team, and Coach wasn’t everywhere anymore. We were eating right and making good decisions on our own because we were finally all in.

Friends, many of us are getting less out of life because we are not all in on what we want. We are trying to straddle the fence on our hopes, our dreams, and our destinies. When we straddle the fence, we go back and forth to this and that, never making any real progress. When we decide to go all-in, it clarifies, cuts through, and focuses us on what we want and need to do. We can’t expect to become what we have never committed to, so ask yourself, do you really want it. When you decide what you really want you begin to expect it, work toward, and set your mind on it. That will give you the stability of mind and heart to reach your destiny. But you have to go all in.

Be Blessed,

Rev