Week Thirty-Six - Open House

Sometimes I think about the things I’d like to do, like go kayaking and float the river with my sister, or have enough money to buy a whole new wardrobe or even my little dream of building my own house.  They are all things that may or may not be possible.

 

I might get to take a trip with my sister someday.  I’d hope so!  I’ll probably never purchase a whole new wardrobe!  I don’t like much of what I see, and my taste is too expensive! And build a little house, well, that’s for the future, and only the Lord knows.

 

I’m sure you have bucket list things you’d like to do or see or places to go.  There’s nothing wrong with that.  But when our desire for things beyond our reach begins creating discontent or resentment, then we need to rope them in!

 

Contentment does not mean begrudgingly settling for the status quo.  It has its root in satisfaction.  It works from the knowledge that time is temporary, and the future is secure. 

 

Where I am today is not where I will be tomorrow, but where I am today, what I have today, and what I am doing right now is important and valuable in God’s economy and for my life. 

 

Contentment rests and generates thankfulness and hope, trusting in the truth found in Philippians 2:13, “For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”

 

Taking time to measure my hopes and dreams against what God wills for my life helps bring things into focus.

 

I can choose to go kayaking with my sister.  There is no issue there. Except for the fact that I live on a different side of the planet from her.  If I let that fact needle me, it creates discontent.  However, if I lay that hope before the Lord, I live in anticipation of the day He might grant that wish.  It isn’t impossible; it just isn’t time for it right now.

 

If I pine for that new wardrobe, or any temporal, material item, to the point that I become unthankful for what I have, my heart gets distracted and complaining sets in.  I might run up the credit card!  My desire for material things potentially leads me to sin, bondage, and unhappiness. 

 

On the other hand, I can be thankful and do the best with what I have, shop wisely, and remember that I am rich compared to ninety percent of the world.  Others wish to have only a pair of shoes for their child, while my closet has multiple pairs strewn on the floor.

 

The same goes for my dream of building a little house.  It is a dream I’ve had for years. Who knows?  Maybe the Lord will allow me to do that someday.  But if I grapple and push to make my dream come true, I lose the beauty of what God is doing now.  He promised to give me the desires of my heart if I delight myself in Him. (Psalm 37:4) I’m excited to wait and see how He works that all out!

 

Friend, we all have hopes and desires.  There is nothing wrong with that.  But the most vital choice you can make today is to bring them in line with what God is doing.  If He has you at the bottom of the ladder, do what is required with a good spirit, learn all you can, and make choices that move you forward.  If you are at the top of that ladder and feeling lonely, reach down and pull others up. If you wish life were different, start being thankful for the joys around you, and let the Lord sort the messy parts.

 

You see, life is a matter of choices and the hand of God.  The two go together.  I challenge you to start where you are.  Settle your heart, knowing today is today, and tomorrow holds potential.  Live one day at a time, and lay your desires and choices before the Lord, and see what He can do!

 

By the way, you’re invited to my open house!

 

 

Shut the Door

The Scarlet Cloak

Week Thirty-Five - Adjust

I’ve always thought I was pretty good at adjusting.  I mean, I can flex.  I can shift to plan B.  I can push in that clutch and change gears when I need to! But, I’m finding this elongated time of adjustment wearing me down.  I mean, if they want me to stay in my house, fine.  Just say so.  If they want us to try to get back to normal, then make it possible.  Suppose they want us to take precautions, fine.  Just keep it clear, consistent, and precise.

I got to thinking about some of this the other day, and I noticed something.  We are all trying to get back to normal.  But what if normal isn’t where God wants us?  What if He wants us to change things up?  Can we do that?  Or are we so set on getting everything back as it was, that we miss out on new opportunities or amendments that would benefit?

My oldest daughter is a Real Estate agent.  Her Facebook post prompted me to think more about adjusting.  She posted -

“Every Monday, Liz Moore, (Her office) sends out her mojo for the week. Sometimes it’s a challenge or idea, and other times, it is encouragement. This week it was a little of both.

It hit a few notes with me. Learning how to do work in our new environment means I'm going to have to adjust.

Adjust:
👉 How I connect with people
👉 Where I do my work
👉 What a workday looks like

 

As with any other time, adjusting means:

💜 I'll learn new skills.
💜 I’ll have more empathy.
💜 I’ll come out stronger.

So, while adjusting is uncomfortable and sometimes hard, it will be worth it.

How are you adjusting your work to come out stronger on the other side?”

Then, she shared this quote: “It’s quite normal to hear of a change and see it as a problem, but it’s probably an opportunity, depending on how quickly you can adjust.”  Jim Pattison.

Let me challenge you to stop trying to make things as they were, but allow the Lord to show you new things that are now possible, things that could be done better, and ways make the new normal full of potential.

By adjusting to what God is doing around us, we will learn new skills, have more empathy, and come through all of this much stronger.  Maybe that’s what He is trying to teach us anyway!

Choices

Stuck in a Corner

Week Thirty-Four - Trivial Matters

Rev S Martin wrote, “The things which you look upon as trivial, have been subjects of eternal thought, and of eternal purpose…God cannot be almighty, He cannot have full control of His creation, unless He foreknew and foresees all things—things both great and small. And if it be so that the Lord does reign in our circumstances, and over them, then we owe an appeal to the throne of God on whatever concerns us.” (p 167-168)

Did you catch that? Every trivial thing has been the subject of eternal thought and has eternal purpose. We will never understand the depth of God’s knowledge or how everything works together, but we can find comfort and assurance that just as He knows every thought we think and every word we say, He has a purpose in it all. Nothing is too small or trivial for His attention.

When we returned from our furlough in 1996, I was on a strict diet of whole foods only. I found Subway the best place for me to eat while we traveled in America, but there was no Subway Sandwich Shop in England.

One day, while wandering around town we noticed a new store going in. We didn’t think much about it because several shops were opening and doing renovations. As we got closer, we recognized the colors and the logo. It was a Subway shop! The first one in England and it opened ten minutes from my house.

I knew God did that! He purposely gave me my own store! I felt so loved and cared for! It truly was an unexpected answer to prayer. God showed me that even that small detail was not outside His reach!

Most of us pray with a sense of God being above us in the heavens. Some pray with the awareness of the presence of God in the very room. Prayer is a very personal thing.

Lamentations 3:41 speaks of lifting up our hearts and hands to the Lord, no doubt, in supplication for our needs. But how many times are we guilty of trying to fix things ourselves instead of lifting them up to God in prayer? We walk around with our heart deflated and our hands hanging down. We believe God helps those who help themselves, and so we try to create our own answers to prayer. How foolish are we?

There is a place for our effort. We are to be actively obeying, providing for our families, and serving with all our love and might. However, the same Lord encourages us to wait on Him, be still, and look for His hand to move. He is in the details, just as when He provided the Subway shop for me.

We can also be guilty of looking to others for blessings instead of God. Yes, God uses men to give to our needs (Luke 6:38). But men are not the source of the blessing. God is. If we aren’t careful, we allow God’s human instruments to block our view, failing to see the hand of God in all things.

Whatever concerns us, we must be taking it to the throne. God does not send a deputy! He attends us personally. No matter what we face, “The Lord is there” (Ezekiel 48:35). He is a good, good Father who cares for His children.

It is a parental relationship we have entered. We needn’t stop at considering ourselves a disciple; we must recognize we are a child of God. Lifting up our hearts and hands to the Father for our every need keeps the relationship vibrant. Nothing is too small or trivial for His attention.

I am too often aware of my keeping God at a distance. I fail to see my needs as pressing. Sometimes I believe God has bigger things to deal with than my petty complaints. But I am reminded that just as I would want to know any concern of my child, God, my Father, desires me to bring every matter to Him. Right down to the sandwich I eat!
           
AND...speaking of trivial matters, today my text refused to stay in one format and my image refused to go to the right-hand side.  Either the Lord wants one of you perfectionists annoyed, someone pleased that I make mistakes, or me humbled because I can't control tech!