Do You Believe?
Perhaps you’ve heard of the college student who gave a talk in speech class entitled, “The Law of the Pendulum.” He spent 20 minutes carefully teaching the physical principle that governs a swinging pendulum. A pendulum can never return to a point higher than the point from which it was released. Because of friction and gravity, when the pendulum returns, it will fall short of its original release point. Each time it swings it makes less and less of an arc, until finally it is at rest.
To illustrate the principle, he attached a 3-foot string to a child’s toy top and secured it to the top of the blackboard with a thumbtack. He pulled the top to one side and made a mark on the blackboard where he let it go. Each time it swung back, he made a new mark. It took less than a minute for the top to complete its swinging and finally come to rest. When he finished the demonstration, the markings on the blackboard proved his thesis. He then asked how many people in the room believed the law of the pendulum was true. All of his classmates raised their hands, and so did the teacher.
But there was more. Hanging from the steel ceiling beams in the middle of the room was a large pendulum with 250 pounds of metal weights tied to four strands of 500-pound test parachute cord. He invited the teacher to climb up on a table and sit in a chair with the back of his head against a cement wall. Then the student brought the 250 pounds of metal up to his nose. Holding the huge pendulum just a fraction of an inch from his face, he once again explained the law of the pendulum as he reminded everyone, “If the law of the pendulum is true, then when I release this mass of metal, it will swing across the room and return short of the release point.” To the teacher he said, “Your nose will be in no danger.” So he released the pendulum. It made a swishing sound as it arced across the room. At the far end of its swing, it paused momentarily and started back.
It was later said that no one had ever seen a man move so fast as did that teacher diving under the table. The student ended his presentation by asking the class, “Does he believe in the law of the pendulum?” The students unanimously answered, “NO! He does not!”
Do you believe in God’s laws? Do you believe in God’s promises? He says, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). Do you believe that? Or do you dive under a table in fear that God will not really do what He says He will do?
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