It often amazes me how kids can go through life oblivious to the obvious. And, how things that I find so very important and in need of immediate attention are the very things that do not rate a second glance on the child priority list. For instance, exactly how many times can one mother say in a 2 minute time period, "Brush your teeth, please.”? I would be willing to take on anyone in such a contest- I am sure I hold the record! The very things they need to do are the things they do not want to take time to do. So I nudge them along, sometimes with more muscle than others, hoping they will allow me to teach them and equip them along the way.
Just before we were going into the sanctuary at our church the other day, I looked at my daughter, who was already rather disheveled after a full day of five-year-old play, and saw she had one big speck of glitter just below her eye. Now this immediately stuck out to me, and wanting to get it off before it got in her eye, I called her to me in order to swiftly and assuredly get the job done. I calmly asked her to come to me, to which she replied, "Why?". Not too thrilled with the question, but understanding she was simply curious, I clued her in to the glitter speck resting just below her left eye and told her I would remove it for her. Surprisingly, she again did not come! Instead, she took her hand and frantically ran it all over her face trying to remove the glitter. After her first failed attempt, she became more determined to do it on her own...this time taking two hands and rubbing them over every spot on that precious little face of hers. But when she finally dropped her hands to her side, there it was...that speck of silver-blue glitter holding tight to her now reddened little face. "Now is it gone?" she asked me- rather exasperated that I had pointed the nuisance out to begin with. "Nope. Still there..." , I replied, waiting patiently for her to finish putting forth her own futile efforts, "...just come over here and let me do it for you! I can see exactly where it is!" She finally conceded and in a matter of seconds she was free to roam and play in her glitter free world!
Oh, how similarly impatient and stubborn I am in my spiritual walk with the Lord! I get so flooded in my own perceived priorities that I refuse to stop when the Lord sees something sitting in the way! Caught in my own routine and minimal expectations, I wear myself out trying to remove what isn't supposed to be there. But Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) All too often I deplete my energy by doing something through my own efforts rather than letting go and letting the Lord work in the mightiness of His strength and power: “… ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” !(Zechariah 4:6) With such ease and perfection, my heavenly Father can not only recognize my need, but also fulfill it like nothing else ever could! The Lord doesn't just want to show us our needs; He wants to meet us at the point of our need: “The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.(Isaiah 58:11)
It takes my faith and trust, however, to allow Him work in the very area that He has lovingly and graciously highlighted as a part of my flesh that needs His touch! His Word says to, “…trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn…”(Psalm 37:5-6) It isn't enough for me to just know that I have the need, or just know what needs to be done...I have to, in faith and trust, let go, get my hands out of it and present it to God so that He can allow the fullness of His truth to get the job done :
“As for God His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is flawless, He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him…It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.”(Psalm 18: 30, 32)
Not only will I find that He is exactly what I need Him to be, but I will also find that I am far less winded and red faced in the end if I will let go from the very beginning- choosing His perfection instead of my pathetic pride-filled pursuits!
The choice seems obvious, but too often we choose to remain oblivious, just like my little girl.
What lengths does God have to go to get your attention?
He desires your priorities to be His...all for your sake.
Will you take the time...take the time to give up?
Allow His hand to touch the face of your need.
“And My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19
Just before we were going into the sanctuary at our church the other day, I looked at my daughter, who was already rather disheveled after a full day of five-year-old play, and saw she had one big speck of glitter just below her eye. Now this immediately stuck out to me, and wanting to get it off before it got in her eye, I called her to me in order to swiftly and assuredly get the job done. I calmly asked her to come to me, to which she replied, "Why?". Not too thrilled with the question, but understanding she was simply curious, I clued her in to the glitter speck resting just below her left eye and told her I would remove it for her. Surprisingly, she again did not come! Instead, she took her hand and frantically ran it all over her face trying to remove the glitter. After her first failed attempt, she became more determined to do it on her own...this time taking two hands and rubbing them over every spot on that precious little face of hers. But when she finally dropped her hands to her side, there it was...that speck of silver-blue glitter holding tight to her now reddened little face. "Now is it gone?" she asked me- rather exasperated that I had pointed the nuisance out to begin with. "Nope. Still there..." , I replied, waiting patiently for her to finish putting forth her own futile efforts, "...just come over here and let me do it for you! I can see exactly where it is!" She finally conceded and in a matter of seconds she was free to roam and play in her glitter free world!
Oh, how similarly impatient and stubborn I am in my spiritual walk with the Lord! I get so flooded in my own perceived priorities that I refuse to stop when the Lord sees something sitting in the way! Caught in my own routine and minimal expectations, I wear myself out trying to remove what isn't supposed to be there. But Jesus says, “Come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) All too often I deplete my energy by doing something through my own efforts rather than letting go and letting the Lord work in the mightiness of His strength and power: “… ‘Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the Lord Almighty.” !(Zechariah 4:6) With such ease and perfection, my heavenly Father can not only recognize my need, but also fulfill it like nothing else ever could! The Lord doesn't just want to show us our needs; He wants to meet us at the point of our need: “The Lord will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail.(Isaiah 58:11)
It takes my faith and trust, however, to allow Him work in the very area that He has lovingly and graciously highlighted as a part of my flesh that needs His touch! His Word says to, “…trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn…”(Psalm 37:5-6) It isn't enough for me to just know that I have the need, or just know what needs to be done...I have to, in faith and trust, let go, get my hands out of it and present it to God so that He can allow the fullness of His truth to get the job done :
“As for God His way is perfect; the Word of the Lord is flawless, He is a shield for all who take refuge in Him…It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect.”(Psalm 18: 30, 32)
Not only will I find that He is exactly what I need Him to be, but I will also find that I am far less winded and red faced in the end if I will let go from the very beginning- choosing His perfection instead of my pathetic pride-filled pursuits!
The choice seems obvious, but too often we choose to remain oblivious, just like my little girl.
What lengths does God have to go to get your attention?
He desires your priorities to be His...all for your sake.
Will you take the time...take the time to give up?
Allow His hand to touch the face of your need.
“And My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:19