(From an essay by Dick Innes, Narramore Christian Foundation, entitled "The Power of Belief")
"Down the streets of Portsmouth [England] more than a hundred years ago," said Lt. General Ira C. Eaker in a speech given some time ago, "walked a sailor with one arm, one eye, and a persistent state of nerves, unable to tread a ship's deck without being seasick. Indeed, he would probably have been in a home for incurables were his name not Admiral Lord Nelson. The man's spirit drove the flesh."
Born in 1758, Horatio Nelson, the son of a pastor, was a small, frail child who loved sailing. As a young teenager he joined the British navy and, while journeying to the East Indies, caught a fever that seriously damaged his health. But he never allowed this to hold him back. At age 18 he was appointed a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and by the year 1802 was made commander in chief of the British fleet.
Two years later, at the Battle of Trafalgar, Nelson defeated the combined French and Spanish fleets. This was the greatest naval victory in British history and left the British in control of the seas for the rest of the 1800s. Unfortunately, Nelson was mortally wounded during Trafalgar, but lived long enough to know that his fleet had won the battle. His last words were, "Thank God I have done my duty."
Nelson was a man of fearless courage and devotion. He believed in his country, in his cause, and in himself. He proved this with his words and more so with his life. He once said, "I am of the opinion that the boldest measures are the safest." Nelson was a man greatly admired by others, who said about him, "His frail body housed a great spirit."
The prominent British philosopher John Stuart Mill would have agreed. He said, "One person with a belief is equal to a force of ninety-nine who only have interest."
No matter what your limitations or your handicaps are, God has a plan and purpose for your life. Believe it and you will receive it. Act on it and you will achieve it, and like the apostle Paul you, too, will be able to say, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).
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Dear God, give me belief in You, strong faith and trust to withstand, carry on, and be victorious in the storms and battles of life. Help me to so believe and live that when I come to the end of life's journey, I too will be able to say, "Thank God that I have done my duty." Thank You for hearing and answering my prayer.
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Victory belongs to the most persevering.-Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), emperor of France who conquered much of Europe
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Through perseverance many people win success out of what seemed destined to be certain failure.-Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881), British writer and prime minister
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Obstacles cannot crush [us]. Every obstacle yields to stern resolve. He who is fixed to a star does not change his mind.-Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Florentine painter, sculptor, architect, engineer, and scientist
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It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer.-Albert Einstein (1879-1955), German-born American physicist
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It is not the mountain we conquer but ourselves.-Sir Edmund Hillary (b. 1919), New Zealand mountain climber and Antarctic explorer, one of the first two climbers to reach the summit of Mount Everest
