Life's Little Frustrations

You have a doctor's appointment

And you're afraid you will be late,

So you rush around and hurry up

Just so you can wait.

Patience

Gal. 4:4a, "But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son....."

The minister Phillip Brooks, was pacing rapidly back and forth one day. Finally one of his friends asked him what in the world was wrong. Phillip's reply was, "I'm in a hurry, and God is not!" I can really relate to that, can't you?

Another minister named Ron Dunn used to say, "God is never late, but He surely does miss a lot of good opportunities to be early!"

Gal. 4:4a in the King James tells us that Jesus came to earth "in the fullness of time." This is how God always acts--at just the right time, at the optimum moment. I so want Him to adhere to my timetable all too often, but He expects me to adhere to His and to do it with faith, with patience, and with peace in my heart. I really struggle with trying to be patient. I'm afraid I want what I want when I want it. But then I remember that God is too good to do evil, too wise to make a mistake, and too powerful to lose control. He loves you and me and desires the very best for our lives. So over and over I surrender and follow His lead and rest in His righteousness, His wisdom, His sovereignty and His love.

Father, thank You that You always know what is best and desire what is best for each one of us. May we follow your lead and be willing to rest in Your perfect timing. Amen.

Going Forward

Phil. 13b, 14, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."

I used to watch with my eyes wide and my mouth open in amazement as my sister-in-law next door would back down her long, cruved driveway at full speed. I can drive a car forward well enough, but somehow I have never learned the trick of contorting my body in such a way as to see where I'm going when I back up. so I have been known to back down familiar driveways looking forward.

Somehow I have never learned to live life looking backward either. I don't dwell at length on the past but try to enjoy the present moment and look toward the future. Not long ago I read this bit of advice, "Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." Easier said than done. Certainly there will always be a deep longing for people who are no longer part of our lives. We remember them and honor their memory and their influence upon us. We also miss certain events in our lives that are over. But God has new people, new evernts, new challenges for us at every stage of life, and He desires that we embrace them and keep pace with Him and His new plans for us.

Father, I thank You for the rich heritage of my life in the past and the people who have so greatly influenced who I am today. I thank You that You are the God of yesterday, today, and tomorrow. As I remember loved ones who are no longer in my life, may I also embrace those who are present and all that You have for me today and tomorrow. Amen.

Life's Little Frustrations

I have a shelf full of books on organization,

But I've finally come to the realization

That the reason I never seem to get around to it

Is because I'd rather read about it than do it!

Hang in There!

James 1:3b- 4, "The testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

It has been many years since I have given my house a cosmetic uplift. Also, I have lived in this same house for 46 years, and I resided with a husband who never threw anything away. I must admit I have also tended to squirrel away many objects that "I might need later." Now I am in the "clean it out, throw it away" mode, along with painting some rooms and changing some floors. The contents of several closets are strewn around various rooms. How can cleaning out make so much mess? Everyday I am tempted just to throw stuff back into closets so at least the house would look neat. I am so tempted to quit in the middle of all I need to do!

Then I am reminded of Winston Churchill's address to a college graduating class. The sum total of his speech was, "Never give up. Never give up. Never give up." I recently read this statement: "The only way to complete failure is to quit." And I've always been inspired by the saying, "It's always too soon to quit."

God has some favorite attributes that He loves to see in our lives, attributes like faith, obedience, and love. Another attribute to which He is greatly partial is perseverance, endurance, hanging in there, never giving up. So, in the closing words of Heb. 12:1, "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Father, thank You that You give us the strength and encouragement to persevere, to endure, to remain faith to You in all circumstances. May we continue to run the race You have marked out for each of us. Amen.