Job 12:7-12
“But ask the animals what they think—let them teach you;
let the birds tell you what’s going on.
Put your ear to the earth—learn the basics.
Listen—the fish in the ocean will tell you their stories.
Isn’t it clear that they all know and agree
that God is sovereign, that he holds all things in his hand—
Every living soul, yes,
every breathing creature?
Isn’t this all just common sense,
as common as the sense of taste?
Do you think the elderly have a corner on wisdom,
that you have to grow old before you understand life?”
Scripture
quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002
by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs,
CO. All rights reserved.
My
nephew, Timothy, will be five years old in a little over a week, yet he
has a wisdom that far exceeds his years. I’m not talking about his
ability to count to 100 or his uncanny capacity for reciting entire
scenes from movies verbatim. I’m talking about his appreciation of the
simplest of pleasures…a cheese sandwich (no crust)… a thrift-store
Velociraptor or T-Rex – or a plastic tub full of garage-sale cars,
trucks and planes…a “Christmas” blanket and a “soft” Santa Claus – and a
recording of “Frosty The Snowman” played for the gazillionth time…or a
trip to the park to play. I am also referring to his awareness of
nature…how he notices the intricacies of a bug AND the beauty of
others…and his appreciation for a “wonderful day” that includes sunshine
and doing the things he loves with the people he loves.
More
importantly, Timothy has a huge heart…for living creatures – and for
God. He doesn’t question…he trusts. He seems to have a depth of
understanding and acceptance of God that eludes people ten times or more
his age! He appears to comprehend God’s power and strength – and His
unconditional love and care. This little boy doesn’t notice age, sex,
skin color, or socio-economic differences. He doesn’t hesitate to tell
the ticket taker at the bouncy houses in the park that she is
beautiful…or to greet an elderly person with a hug and ask “How is your
day going?” Every child he encounters is a potential “friend”…and he
doesn’t hold grudges.
Author and speaker Beth Moore writes in
Feathers From My Nest that children will be influenced exponentially by
people and forces outside of the home as they grow and venture forth.
And sadly, they will lose some of their innocence and trusting
nature…and maybe even their faith. No longer will they be so willing to
take people and situations at face value. They will become too busy to
“stop and smell the roses” in many instances…and they may begin to
question everything – including God. I know that she is right. It
happens to most of us…and it may happen to our little guy.
But
there is good news. While we changed as we grew…God has NOT changed. He
is still with us…still there for us in every minute – in every way…and
we can find Him again and give Him our full trust and devotion. The
first step is to stop and get still and quiet for a little bit…to look
around and truly SEE God in the detailed pattern of fur on your dog or
cat – or that cow-lick in your hair…to marvel at the incredible
attention He has given to the body of even a lowly moth or
grasshopper…to appreciate His gift of sunshine and rain – seasons and
surprises. Take a full assessment of your life and recognize where God
has provided…how He has guided your steps and cared for you along the
way.
Devote a few minutes to reviewing where you stepped away
from God and tried to “have it your way”. Acknowledge how this may not
have worked out so well…and pledge to stay more attuned to His will and
direction in the future. In essence, become a kid again…but not
necessarily in the way you might think. Quit making everything so
complicated and return to the child-like wonder of a relationship with
God…the time when life was simpler and “under-analyzed”…when all you
needed was a cheese sandwich, your favorite blanket and a plastic
dinosaur or bug book…and the people you loved.
Find God
again…and reconnect with Him by surrendering YOUR will to His. Let
“nature” and the “wisdom” of a five-year-old be your guide.
©2014 Debbie Robus
Showing posts with label seeing what God sees. Show all posts
Showing posts with label seeing what God sees. Show all posts
Daily Devotional for April 12, 2014
Psalm 112:4-9
Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly.
Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered.
They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Recently, a good friend of ours underwent surgery to remove his kidney. Pat was diagnosed with a form of Renal Cell Carcinoma…kidney cancer. Preliminary scans determined that the brain and bones were cancer-free, and the surgery revealed that the lymph nodes are clear as well. The message we received was “They got it all out.” This is great news for this 40-something father of three small children…as well as for all of us who love this family.
In a message Pat sent me following the surgery, he said, “We both know God has - and will - see us through this. He was never caught off guard by this.” His wife Kerri added, “We are feeling the overwhelming love from everyone…and feeling the prayers. God is giving us strength and comfort. We feel His hand in all of this.” Friends and fellow church members gathered at our church during the surgery to lift Pat in prayer…to ask for wisdom and expertise from the medical team…and to call on God to offer compassion and comfort to Pat’s family and friends. Clearly, God heard the prayers!
The husband of another friend - also a 40-something father to boys ages 6 and 8, and five-month-old twins - is battling Glioblastoma…a deadly (and so far, incurable) form of brain cancer…or as his wife calls it, “The Beast”. Adam’s cancer seems to be growing faster than chemo can kill it. And as we pray for Pat, we are also praying for Adam and his family.
Two Godly fathers…two very different prognoses. And some would say, “What did one do that the other did not? Why is God showing more mercy to one than the other? Doesn’t He see that both families need these dads? Doesn’t He understand the long-term impact of these situations? Why doesn’t God intervene for both of them? Does he care more for one family than the other?"
The simple answer is that God does not play favorites. Yes, God is fully aware of every single aspect of these situations…and He truly IS showing compassion for all concerned. As Pat said in his message, “God was never caught off guard by this.” So while it may seem that this scripture passage is telling us that God rewards our “good deeds” with His love and care…this is not the “whole enchilada”. Clearly we have an example of two men who have served their LORD well…but the path He designed for each of them is radically different. The pervading message is that God loves both of them…and He has tremendous love and compassion for their lives and the events that are unfolding.
So what do we do with this? How do we square such distressing ordeals with a loving, compassionate, merciful God? How do we witness to others about a God who allows human suffering and loss? The answer is simple… we look to the cross. We gaze upon the beaten and mutilated body of Jesus Christ, our SAVIOR…and we see that God understands how we feel. His anguish over Jesus’ suffering was so profound that it caused Him to momentarily look away. God feels our trepidation…He fully comprehends our questions – and why we ask them. But He knows so much more than we do about the “big picture”. We cannot fully see what God sees or know what He knows. But God is never caught off guard by these events.
Surely God calls on us to be faithful in our service to Him…fair in business…generous and kind…benevolent and compassionate to the needy…and fearless in the face of trials and tribulations. But He doesn’t play favorites. He does not say, “I will punish this person with a horrific accident or illness”…or “I will take him/her out of this world for such misdeeds or lack of faith.” He doesn’t arbitrarily decide that one young father should get a good diagnosis while another’s is grim. We simply do not see God’s big picture…so there is no way to fully understand His purposes.
We must cling to the promise that God’s plans are always perfect. We must trust Him and recognize that He loves us more than we can ever, EVER begin to comprehend…and His mercy and compassion are unending. And we must love others and show them the face of God, no matter what our circumstances. I have been so moved by the models of courage and fortitude that both of these young fathers and their families have demonstrated. I have witnessed God’s love and care through their examples of unwavering faith and hope. I have observed the outpouring of love, kindness, compassion and mercy from others for these families. And I have seen God’s handiwork in both situations.
None of us knows what tomorrow holds…or if we are promised another day. If you are young, you may think you have the rest of a very long life to start living for Jesus…plenty of time to be fair, honest, faithful and benevolent. But truly, you don’t know that. So don’t waste one minute! Pick up your Bible and read Psalm 112 in its entirety. Move over to the New Testament and read about the events that led to Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection. Then spend some time with God and ask Him to strengthen you in your discipleship…to truly enable you to be His face to others…to fortify your ability to be generous, compassionate, and righteous.
And pray for Pat and Adam and their families…and others who are facing tremendous tests and challenges. Ask God to reveal Himself to them in such a way that leaves no doubt that they belong to Him…that He is never caught off guard. Call on God to remind us in ways great and small that He’s got this – and them…and all will be well. To God be the glory…forever and ever. Amen!
©2014 Debbie Robus
Light shines in the darkness for the godly. They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
Good comes to those who lend money generously and conduct their business fairly.
Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered.
They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor.
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Recently, a good friend of ours underwent surgery to remove his kidney. Pat was diagnosed with a form of Renal Cell Carcinoma…kidney cancer. Preliminary scans determined that the brain and bones were cancer-free, and the surgery revealed that the lymph nodes are clear as well. The message we received was “They got it all out.” This is great news for this 40-something father of three small children…as well as for all of us who love this family.
In a message Pat sent me following the surgery, he said, “We both know God has - and will - see us through this. He was never caught off guard by this.” His wife Kerri added, “We are feeling the overwhelming love from everyone…and feeling the prayers. God is giving us strength and comfort. We feel His hand in all of this.” Friends and fellow church members gathered at our church during the surgery to lift Pat in prayer…to ask for wisdom and expertise from the medical team…and to call on God to offer compassion and comfort to Pat’s family and friends. Clearly, God heard the prayers!
The husband of another friend - also a 40-something father to boys ages 6 and 8, and five-month-old twins - is battling Glioblastoma…a deadly (and so far, incurable) form of brain cancer…or as his wife calls it, “The Beast”. Adam’s cancer seems to be growing faster than chemo can kill it. And as we pray for Pat, we are also praying for Adam and his family.
Two Godly fathers…two very different prognoses. And some would say, “What did one do that the other did not? Why is God showing more mercy to one than the other? Doesn’t He see that both families need these dads? Doesn’t He understand the long-term impact of these situations? Why doesn’t God intervene for both of them? Does he care more for one family than the other?"
The simple answer is that God does not play favorites. Yes, God is fully aware of every single aspect of these situations…and He truly IS showing compassion for all concerned. As Pat said in his message, “God was never caught off guard by this.” So while it may seem that this scripture passage is telling us that God rewards our “good deeds” with His love and care…this is not the “whole enchilada”. Clearly we have an example of two men who have served their LORD well…but the path He designed for each of them is radically different. The pervading message is that God loves both of them…and He has tremendous love and compassion for their lives and the events that are unfolding.
So what do we do with this? How do we square such distressing ordeals with a loving, compassionate, merciful God? How do we witness to others about a God who allows human suffering and loss? The answer is simple… we look to the cross. We gaze upon the beaten and mutilated body of Jesus Christ, our SAVIOR…and we see that God understands how we feel. His anguish over Jesus’ suffering was so profound that it caused Him to momentarily look away. God feels our trepidation…He fully comprehends our questions – and why we ask them. But He knows so much more than we do about the “big picture”. We cannot fully see what God sees or know what He knows. But God is never caught off guard by these events.
Surely God calls on us to be faithful in our service to Him…fair in business…generous and kind…benevolent and compassionate to the needy…and fearless in the face of trials and tribulations. But He doesn’t play favorites. He does not say, “I will punish this person with a horrific accident or illness”…or “I will take him/her out of this world for such misdeeds or lack of faith.” He doesn’t arbitrarily decide that one young father should get a good diagnosis while another’s is grim. We simply do not see God’s big picture…so there is no way to fully understand His purposes.
We must cling to the promise that God’s plans are always perfect. We must trust Him and recognize that He loves us more than we can ever, EVER begin to comprehend…and His mercy and compassion are unending. And we must love others and show them the face of God, no matter what our circumstances. I have been so moved by the models of courage and fortitude that both of these young fathers and their families have demonstrated. I have witnessed God’s love and care through their examples of unwavering faith and hope. I have observed the outpouring of love, kindness, compassion and mercy from others for these families. And I have seen God’s handiwork in both situations.
None of us knows what tomorrow holds…or if we are promised another day. If you are young, you may think you have the rest of a very long life to start living for Jesus…plenty of time to be fair, honest, faithful and benevolent. But truly, you don’t know that. So don’t waste one minute! Pick up your Bible and read Psalm 112 in its entirety. Move over to the New Testament and read about the events that led to Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection. Then spend some time with God and ask Him to strengthen you in your discipleship…to truly enable you to be His face to others…to fortify your ability to be generous, compassionate, and righteous.
And pray for Pat and Adam and their families…and others who are facing tremendous tests and challenges. Ask God to reveal Himself to them in such a way that leaves no doubt that they belong to Him…that He is never caught off guard. Call on God to remind us in ways great and small that He’s got this – and them…and all will be well. To God be the glory…forever and ever. Amen!
©2014 Debbie Robus
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