Here in Australia it is Winter and it has been getting quite cold in the wee hours, cold enough to have to wear socks to bed! 😀 I know that is nothing compared to some places around the world in Winter, even some places in Summer. I’ve been to a ski resort where the temperature read -9C, but I honestly don’t remember it being cold because we were too busy skiing and having fun to notice the chill. (Although the snow that sometimes got through the holes in my gloves told me that it was cold. haha)
So, back to my dog.. The other day I decided to put her jacket on as it was very cold, so I went and got her and started to put it on. The front legs going through the holes were fine and easy, but trying to do the zip up from underneath was a pain. She wouldn’t sit still for me to do the zip and I was getting frustrated with her trying to move, and her squirming, or trying to put her paw on my arm etc. She was making it almost impossible for me to do what I needed to do in order to make sure she was warm and comfortable. She was getting in my way, so in a firm voice I said “BE STILL”. It really didn’t work, surprise, surprise, but oh how the Lord used that moment of me chastising my dog to speak to me!
How often do we squirm and wriggle through the hard parts or seasons of life and forget that God tells us to ‘be still’ and to trust Him? How often do we get in God’s way by resisting the temptation to step in and allow Him to work all things together in His perfect timing? How many times do we hamper God’s efforts by trying to do things ourselves, and failing?
If you are anything like me it will be nearly all. the. time!
As an aside, I was involved in a conversation on a ‘Christian’ fb page and the topic was creation. The person who posted asked a question along the lines of ‘for those professing Christians who believe God used the “big bang”, where did the matter come from to cause the ‘big bang’? A rather lengthy conversation ensued, and a lot of people used scripture while a lot of people used reasoning, and reasoning by way of questioning (questioning the length of time it took God to created and how could there be light before the sun {easy questions to answer if you ask me, but they seemed intent on not taking God’s word for, well, God’s word} ). Me being me I couldn’t help but add my 11c worth. 😉 I shared some verses and went back and forth for a while until it basically all just phased out. In the day or so since the conversation I have ‘coincidentally’ seen, or remembered verses related to the topic, so I went back to the page today to add a bit extra. One last verse came to mind as I was writing my last comment, which I was also aiming at myself as well, was Hebrews 11:6 “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”
I know that God has a sense of humour, because I just went to check the verse of the day on the Bible website I use and Heb 11:6 is the verse of the day. He is definitely trying to let me know that He is listening to me and to trust Him, to be still and know that He is God.
I am so thankful for His grace and mercy. He knew before He even created the world that we would still sin and be in need of His grace. He knew the struggles we would face in this world and the grace we would need to trudge through them, hence my using the photo with the verse that I did.
Gracious Heavenly Father,
I come to you and ask that you would give me, and everyone who reads this, the grace to weather the storms of life. Help us to be still and leave our worries and troubles in your capable hands. Lord, we know that without faith it is impossible to please you, so please fill us with more faith, grow our mustard seed of faith into the kind of faith that trusts you with all our heart and leans not on our own understanding. Thank You.
In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
If this little ‘devotional’ resonates with you in any way, please leave a comment below. Facebook has stopped me posting from my EiF page so this is my contact with you all in the outside world at the moment. haha Also, please feel free to share this if you think someone will be blessed by it.
God bless. 🙂
eternityisforever 