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Facing the Future With Courage and Optimism!
- Ronald Bainbridge
- Nov 4, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: 3 days ago
Friends, for over 40 years, Discovering A BETTER LIFE
has been sharing messages of encouragement and hope.
We hope to equip, encourage, and energise true believers in Jesus Christ, regardless of denomination, church fellowship, or historic tradition.(along with all seekers of Biblical Truth around the globe) with the most comprehensive and sound Bible Resources, drawn from the stories found in God’s Holy Word.
(John 8:31-32)
The Stories we share are about:
(Real People, Real Events, Real Places)
May these stories help you embrace the “Real and eternal life, more and better life than ever dreamed of" that God graciously offers to all who willingly commit their lives to Jesus. (John 10:10)
They are dedicated to HELPING
PEOPLE FIND SALVATION, PEACE and HOPE
Through entering a personal Relationship
With Jesus Christ, who declared,
“In this world you will have trouble,
But take heart! I have overcome the world!”
(John 10:10; 14:1-6; 16:33; Acts 2:36-47)
Presenting Positive Messages of
Encouragement and Hope!
Today’s Message of Encouragement
Facing the Future
With Courage and Optimism!
Almost 60 years ago, Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel enchanted us all with the songs of a poor boy who went to New York on a dream and fell victim to the harsh realities of city life. Penniless, with only strangers as friends, he spent his days “laying low, seeking out the poorer quarters where the ragged people go, looking for the places only they would know.” (“The Boxer” by Paul Simon, © 1968)
Friend, it’s easy to picture this young boy, dirty face and worn clothes, looking for work and finding none. He trudges the footpaths and battles the cold, and dreams of going somewhere “where the New York City winters aren’t bleeding me, leading me home.”
He entertains thoughts of quitting and returning home. Giving up—something he never thought he would do. But just when he picks up the towel to throw it into the ring, he encounters a boxer.
Perhaps you will remember these words?
“In the clearing stands a boxer and a fighter by his trade, and he carries a reminder of every blow that laid him down or cut him till he cried out in his anger and his shame--‘I am leaving, I am leaving!’ but the fighter remains.”
“The fighter remains!”
There is something magnetic in that phrase. It rings with a truth. Those who can remain like a boxer are a rare breed. I don’t necessarily mean win; I just mean remain. Hang in there. Finish. Stick to it until it is done. Unfortunately, very few of us do that. Our human tendency is to stop before we cross the finish line. And our inability to finish what we start is seen in the smallest of things. Such as a partly mowed lawn, a half-read book, letters begun but never completed, an abandoned diet, a car or tractor up on blocks. Or it shows up in life’s most painful areas. Such as an abandoned child, a cold faith, a job hopper, a wrecked marriage, or an un-evangelised world.
Am I touching some painful sores?
Any chance I’m addressing someone who is considering giving up? If I am, I want to encourage you to remain. I want to encourage you to remember Jesus’ determination on the cross and stop and listen as he pushes his feet down on that Roman nail, and cries, “It is finished!”
Was this a cry of defeat? Hardly! Had his hands not been fastened down, I dare say that a triumphant fist would have punched the dark sky. No, this is no cry of despair. It is a cry of completion. A cry of victory, a cry of fulfilment! Yes, even a cry of relief. The fighter remained. Thank God that he did! Thank God that he endured!
Friend, are you close to giving up? Please don’t do it. Are you discouraged as a parent? Hang in there. Are you pessimistic about your job? Roll up your sleeves and give it your best shot. Is there no communication in your marriage? Give it another chance. Can’t resist temptation? Accept God’s forgiveness and go one more round. Is your day framed with sorrow and disappointment? Are your tomorrows turning into a sense of hopelessness? Is hope a forgotten word?
Remember, a finisher is not one without wounds or weariness. Quite to the contrary, he, like the boxer, is scarred and bloody. Mother Teresa is credited with saying, “God didn’t call us to be successful, just faithful.” The fighter, like our Master, is pierced and full of pain. He, like Paul, may even be bound and beaten. But he remains. The Land of Promise, says Jesus, awaits those who endure (Matthew 10:22). It is not just for those who make the victory laps or drink champagne. No! The Land of Promise is for those who simply remain to the end.
My encouragement for you today is to endure and finish the race of life, no matter what obstacles are in your way. I encourage you to face the future with courage and optimism—because:
TOMORROW CAN BE BETTER!
“What’s lost today may be won tomorrow.”
(Miguel de Cervantes) == (1547-1616)
Friend, if you are in any doubt about what we have shared with you today, we invite you to write to:
Discovering A BETTER LIFE and request two FREE booklets titled
“TOMORROW CAN BE BETTER!” and “When Life Lets You Down.”
These two informative booklets, describe how your life can be changed. It can be different. The future doesn’t have to be like the past. Tomorrow can be better! For your copy of these life-changing booklets, write to us at:
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Western Australia 6050
Or email us at: abl-alb@omninet.net.au
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Until we share another message of encouragement with you, may our loving God lift you on eagle’s wings and provide you with His Peace, Wisdom, and Love (Psalm 91:1-6; Isaiah 40:27-31).
Ron Bainbridge
Co-ordinator
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