Patiently Waiting

At each meal our beagle Sparrow waits.

She sits beside, or in front of, one of us watching and waiting. She doesn't move from her position. She doesn't bark (she, after all, a hound). She doesn't howl (she, after all, a hound). She doesn't whine or whimper. She just looks up with those chocolate brown eyes of hers.

She is waiting. . .hoping a morsel of food -- better than the diet dog food in her dish -- might be tossed, or dropped, her way.

Sparrow's consistency impresses me. She never whines. She always waits patiently. She doesn't tap her little foot or even sigh, and Sparrow has been known to sigh when she is unhappy about something.

I want to be like Sparrow.

I want to patiently wait on the Lord, not barking, howling or whining, not tapping my foot or sighing either. I want to remain patiently at His side or His feet to receive what He has for me and accept it with the readiness and joy that Sparrow seems to accept any tidbit which comes her way.

"Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. " Psalm 46:10

"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5,6

Practice Produces Results

Image via WikipediaOur grandson, Jackson, loves to sit at our piano and let his fingers play up and down the keyboard. Because of his lack of skill and training, the result is not very melodic, even if it is often passionate and loud.

With a slight bit more skill than Jackson, and a little training, when I play the result is a little better, but not much. (Not nearly as loud or passionate, however.)

Our daughter Emmie has had as much training as I have had (though not quite as long ago) and has a bit more skill. It shows in the results.

My husband has had little training but has great skill and is very gifted. He can sit at the piano and play any song he has heard, or any he wishes to create, as if he has played them most of his life. His fingers move with speed and accuracy the sound of which has resulted in many pleasurable moments in my life.

Our daughter Marie has had training, has great skill and is very gifted. When she plays, I stop whatever I am doing to listen. The speed at which her fingers can produce notes astounds me. Even the most complicated music does not seem to phase her.

In our Christian lives, our utilization of the Bible can often be like the piano in our house. Some seem to have a great gift for delving into the Scriptures and gleaning from them the truths they contain. Others can only read the words and wonder what they must mean.
I think there are definitely some for whom the Lord has called to studiously devour the Word. For the rest of us though, I think it is meant to repetitively read it until it has been hidden in our hearts. It reminds me of a piece of music I learned to play as a teenager. I played it so much then, that even now I can sit at the piano and play the majority of the piece, it was so etched into my brain.

If we do not know the Scriptures, it is usually not because they are too complicated for us to understand, after all, the Bible is the only book that comes with it's author to illuminate it for us. If we cannot understand it, perhaps we have not been asking the Lord to open our eyes to the truths the pages contain.

Or perhaps, as one character in a favorite book of mine says (speaking of her piano performance), "I have always supposed it to be my own fault -- because I would not take the trouble of practicing." Perhaps we just have not spent enough time in the Scriptures to be well-versed in them, familiar with them and to have them hidden in our hearts.

Let us decide, that like the Psalmist David, we will hide the Scriptures in our hearts.

"Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee."

Psalm 119:11

Every Time, On Time

A few weeks before Christmas, I ordered for my oldest daughter what she described asImage via CrunchBase her "number one Christmas present." Several days later I received an email from the seller that stated the particular item I purchased was out of stock. I scoured the internet looking for another vendor selling the same item. Finally I found one who sold the item and had it in stock, even though the price was three times as much as the original vendor. I canceled the first order and ordered the second, expecting it to arrive just before Christmas.

A week later, I received an email from the vendor that the item was out of stock, but they would be shipped right after Christmas. This would have to do, it was too close to Christmas to try and find the item anywhere else now. I put a note -- actually a poem -- in a box for my daughter that her present would arrive after Christmas.

A couple days after Christmas, I received an email from the vendor that the item was now back-ordered and would be shipped the first week of the New Year. I was disappointed, but I could understand the delay.

After the first week of January, I received an email saying the item was delayed and would arrive at the end of the month. I was no longer disappointed, I was angry. I searched the internet again for the item and found it. I verified the vendor had the item in stock -- yes, he had them. I ordered it. I emailed the other vendor and canceled my order. . .rather vehemently. The item was at our door within three days, from the original vendor, I might add.

I felt that neither of these vendors completely met my needs in a timely manner. There is Someone however who always meets my needs, every time, and as our dear friend Mrs. Becky points out, "on time, too."

The Lord promises to supply ALL our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. There is no better guarantee than that. The riches of the Lord are unfathomable and the ability of the Lord Jesus is unfaltering and His timeliness is pinpoint.

"But my God shall supply all your need
according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Philippians 4:19 "And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; and while they are yet speaking, I will hear."
Isaiah 65:24

Right Here, Right Now, This Very Minute

If you have read my posts before, you know I am a great fan of our GPS we have affectionately named "Daphne".  She was invaluable to us driving home from Arkansas recently in freezing fog with a visibility of about two feet.  She could tell us where we were at any given moment and which streets were ahead, even though there was no way for us to see the streets.

Sometimes in life we want a "spiritual" GPS.  We want to be able to look at God's plan for our life on a little screen and see exactly what is ahead. Sometimes we become discontent with where He has placed us right now in this very minute and we ache and chafe and long for another time.  Maybe that means longing for another ministry, another city, a new group of people with whom to work and minister.

In doing so - in the aching and chafing and longing, we are missing the very point of being RIGHT HERE.  It is no accident the Lord has allowed us to be where we are right NOW this very minute.  He has someone, somewhere for us to minister to in this very place.  It may not be a very big place, in fact it may be very tiny.  "Better a small fire that warms, than a big fire that burns."

I wish I could give credit to the person who said that daydreams were one of the most dangerous tools of our enemy, because they lead us to be discontent in where the Lord has us right here, right now, this very minute.

If you have been harboring these daydreams in your heart, if you find yourself chafing at where you are right now, ask the Lord to forgive you and to reveal to you the ministry, however small, He has for you, right now, right here, in this very minute.