A Message from Steve, episode 156

0:00 If you love a prodigal, you can discover help and hope for your wilderness journey right here, or when you love a prodigal podcast. And also help and hope for your own life journey. Today will be a little different. Two years ago today, October 29, my wonderful husband, Steve, moved to heaven. I miss him every day. I talk to him often. I thank God for giving me 47 years with such an amazing man. I was so blessed. And God has been so faithful to care for me, provide for me, and give me so many opportunities to keep serving him, to touch lives for him, and to experience his peace.

0:53 So for today's program, I want to let you hear from Steve, briefly telling his own story. It's not a story about having a prodigal, though of course he did. But at the end of his story of finding meaning in his life, he tells a beautiful message that will help every person who has a prodigal in their life. So I really encourage you to listen to him. I really encourage you to just listen to this short video from Steve and be prepared to learn something that'll be very powerful in your life.

1:36 One of the key lessons I learned in undergraduate school was that success does not satisfy. When I went away to college, I decided that my happiness in life would not be a result of a gift of God. It would be a result of my own effort. My dad drove me out from Rockford, Illinois, which is my hometown, and it took us a thousand miles of driving to get to MIT. I remember thinking, Dad, I'm gonna do well. I'm gonna be satisfied because I'm gonna achieve my objective. And I set some very specific objectives. I wanted to get good grades, no small deal at MIT. I wanted to be involved in sports, maybe leadership opportunities. And I thought it was a good idea to maybe have a few dates before I graduated from MIT.

2:18 Well, I did very well on that objective and actually did very well on the other objectives, got better grades even than I thought I would, and was involved all four years on the MIT basketball team. Now you're probably thinking, MIT basketball? I don't think I've ever seen them in the NCAA tournament. No, and you never will, I'm sure, but I get to be on the team. And I did get involved in leadership opportunities, but you know what I discovered? None of them really seemed to satisfy. I remember an award ceremony in my senior year, this award that I had longed to receive from the beginning time that I was at MIT. And sure enough, I was getting it that day. My name was called. I began walking up the cement steps there in that same great court where dad dropped me off.

3:02 And I was gonna receive a big silver platter from an officer of the university. I mean, this is the pinnacle of success, right? But it was one of the most hollow experiences of my entire life. It's almost as if those cement steps turned to wood. Cause I heard this distinct echo saying, so what? Big deal, so what? I thought, wow, if even in the moment of success, it's no big deal, it's gonna be a long life. I remember Jeb Magruder of the Watergate scandal with Richard Nixon saying a few years later that he had climbed his ladder of success to the top, in his case, the White House, only to discover that his ladder was propped against the wrong wall. Well, those were my sentiments exactly. My ladder was propped against the wrong wall.

3:44 Well, that summer I went back to Rockford, kind of curious what is really the secret to satisfaction in life. And I had to go to this religious meeting. It happened to be sponsored by an organization called Campus Crusade for Christ. And there I got a lot more than I bargained for as I attended the meeting, because it was time with a lot of believers who were true followers of Jesus and from whom the joy of Jesus Christ just beamed. I was so impressed that they were experiencing peace and satisfaction in life far more than I was. Not because of success, but because of God. Well, after several weeks of exposure to that, I remember sitting on my bed at home saying, you know, Lord, that's what I want.

4:25 I want a relationship with you through Jesus Christ, just like they're enjoying. Well, I didn't float off the bed, but my life began to change. And one illustration of how my life changed was by gaining satisfaction directly from God and peace directly from God. I went on to Harvard Business School, took my very first case study exam, never taken one of those before, and came out of that exam totally confident that I had not done well. Well, I dragged back to my room that day and I thought, oh man, I've blown my first exam in graduate school. And as I was sitting there in my room, I remember there's a verse in the Bible that says the fruit of the Spirit is peace.

5:10 Well, I'm not experiencing peace. My heart is filled with turmoil. But I prayed a very simple prayer. I said, God, I'm not asking for any favors in the exam. I'm just asking for peace. Well, you know what? My heart at a moment was just filled with peace. And it dawned on me probably for the first time ever that the supernatural God of the universe had not only come to be a part of my life, but he had actually interacted with me. He had heard my prayer. He surely had many other prayers going to him at that time about death and about sickness and other sources of grief and wars. And yet he heard the prayer of a plaintiff student who didn't study properly for his exam and gave him peace.

5:53 I'll never forget. So one of the key lessons I learned was that success does not satisfy. I did experience a measure of success. I did not experience a great deal of satisfaction. I want a relationship with Jesus Christ, experiencing peace and satisfaction in life, not because of success, but because of God. I trust Steve's message on peace has blessed you. If that is a need in your life right now and prodigals tend to disrupt our peace, Jesus has promised peace to us. Just ask him. And there are some good links about peace in the show notes. So check that out and know that next week we will be talking about how your prodigal is a gift.

6:45 You say, what? If this is a gift, it's one of the worst gifts I've ever gotten. No, you're gonna discover next week how your prodigal is truly a gift for you. Again, we'd appreciate your liking the podcast and subscribing. God bless you.