The Lord is not finished giving lessons from the Mr. Prancy Pants incident. I sat down to have a quiet time this morning with a little guilt twisting inside. It had been about a week since I picked up my Bible.
My first words were: "I'm so sorry, Lord."
I expected to turn to some verse about neglect, but instead, I opened the devotional book, Jesus Calling, and the first line I read was: "Let me bless you with My Grace and Peace."
I leaned back in my chair . . . "Wow, Lord, I get too busy to sit with You and this is Your response?"
I was blown away. We get our feelings hurt when our loved ones are too busy to call, or visit. God deserves better from us, but He understands life happens.
I was meditating on the subject of happy trust -- that was the reaction Oden had when we cut that cheese ball barrel off his head. He displayed no fear, no anxiety, just happy trust. It made me survey areas in my life that I've called insolvable unless God intervenes.
Life hands us things that evoke feelings far from happy. That's when we have to apply ferocious faith. Faith that will not waver--even if our emotions do. Aren't you thankful that our emotions are not the gauge by which we test the level of our faith, or maturity in the Lord? My emotions ride like a roller coaster at times, but I've learned to say, "I may be needy . . . BUT I trust GOD!"
As I sat quietly with Jesus, I though about Oden's unsolvable situation. He could not get that barrel off his head himself. It was beyond anything he could do himself. Oden tried to solve his problem by banging his head into the door, but that did not accomplish a thing. That's when God said that I need to beware of trying be a solver.
I have to own this. When there's a problem, all my solver-juices start flowing. I think of a thousand things to try and fix the problem, instead of taking pausing to ask my great big God what to do. Can you relate? Do you pray first? Or, do you tend to try everything else, and when it all fails--then you pray? I'm learning. How about you?
I'm keeping the cheese ball barrel as a reminder to walk in happy
trust, and look at all the insolvable things in life with ferocious faith in our Faithful Father.
Isn't it wonderful to know we have a loving Father who wants to share it all with us -- and bless us with His unmeasurable grace and peace.