God's Gotcha Covered

God knows our needs. We never have to doubt that. Here’s an example from scripture:

God had just finished creating the world, and it was perfect—everything imaginable was created in the most beautiful way, Adam was made and instructed not to eat of the tree of good and evil. But God noticed that something was wrong. To Himself He said, “It is not good that the man should be alone, I will make an helpmeet for him.”

Well, some time went by, and Adam received the job of naming the animals. That is when he started seeing that something was missing. In the same verse that tells of Adam’s duties, it says, “But for Adam there was not found an helpmeet for him.” Now we see that Adam knew there was a need—he felt lonely. And that’s when God did His work. He put Adam to sleep…..and Eve was made, completely filling that need Adam felt.

This story shows us that God looks at us and sees our necessities BEFORE we do, so that when we finally notice that need ourselves, and talk to Him about it, He’s got everything in control and is ready to take care of us. Sadly though, there are so many times that, once we feel our need, we spend our time worrying, or complaining, or even trying to fill it ourselves, all of which are totally unacceptable. Why? Well, for instance, when one worries or complains over a need they have, they are so focused on how bad the situation is, and are disturbed because they can’t fix the problem themselves, there is no room for the joy of resting in the Lord. He’s going to take care of that problem anyway. So we can choose to spend the time of waiting either worrying and being stressed, or having peace while we trust Him.

Also, if a problem is attempted to be solved by us, we mess it all up, and our outcome becomes a lame and pathetic substitute for the wonderful solution that God already had planned in the first place. Otto Koning was a missionary in New Guinea and he tells a story that perfectly illustrates what I have just said. Once, he planted a pineapple garden, and he was absolutely stoked about eating what he had planted. As soon as the plants had grown, however, the natives of the country kept stealing the pineapples! He tried numerous things to get them to quit stealing his pineapples (closing down his medical clinic, closing down his store, getting a ferocious dog…), but nothing worked, and the natives became angry with him, because he was so selfish. Well, he finally decided to give the pineapples to God, and a few days later, he told the natives they weren’t stealing his pineapples, but God’s. After hearing that, the natives immediately quit stealing from him, and he was able to eat all the pineapples he could, and share the rest with the natives as well! He quit trying to solve the problem himself, leaving it up to God, who solved the situation perfectly.

Now, to sum up what I just said: When you realize you have a need, know that God already knows what it is, so just talk to Him about it and be joyful instead of resorting to disagreeable alternatives like complaining, worrying, or taking things in your own hands.

Happy Valentine's Day

Well, I'm generally not a huge fan of Valentine's Day, but I have a swell mom and dad, who gave us some nice chocolate. I kind of wonder if they regret the lip shaped chocolates because of this picture, but to show our gratitude for their mad parenting skills, Madalyne and I wrote them each a little poem. I've decided to put them on here to show that even though I may be a cinic when it comes to flowers and valentines and other such festivities like that, I CAN make a nice valentine for my parents!

DAD'S:
For our family, Dad's a good cheif.
He buys us all our daily beef!

He's very smart--
When I have questions, to him I always dart.

He takes me for rides in his plane
Except for when there is rain.

We know his name's not Peter...
But he sure is a great leader!

MOM'S:
In all the world when we think of our mother,
We know that we'd rather have no other!

Mom's a good friend;
She'll be there to the bitter end.

Mom teaches us
So we don't have to ride the bus.

We know God has a special place
For Mom who serves with grace.

Email Quality

In case nobody has noticed, Paul is one of my favorite people to write about and learn from. There is so much to learn from his life, his walk with the Lord…and his letters—which is what I am going to write about at this time. You can tell a lot about a person by reading what they write—the things that are important to them, the things they like or detest, and what they think about. Paul is, of course, no exception, and his letters are incredible! They are just packed with every topic imaginable of how to grow in your spiritual walk. Now, Paul had God telling him what exactly to write, but at the time, he probably didn’t know that his letters would become a big part of the Bible. He was just a man who had a desire to write to his friends and encourage them to grow closer to God.

Now, this is 2009, and people never sit down with a crusty piece of parchment and pen in hand to send a letter. Well ok, maybe a small minority do, but only a few, and a lot of people don’t even like to write in the first place. Instead, we send emails all the time. Everybody. It’s something I, and almost all the other people I know love to do. Whether the email is long or short, written by friend or foe, I simply love opening up the email and seeing that I have messages in my inbox. And as a matter of fact, I consider myself a pretty good email-writer. I can put in silly quotes, and express my emotions with smiley faces, and exclamation points and all that, and I’m very faithful at replying to emails sent my way. But when I look over the last, say…20 emails that I have sent, and compare them with the letters Paul sent to his friends, it makes me feel ashamed. I have Christian friends that I care deeply about, and I really want to see them growing closer to the Lord, but I often waste far too much time sending rather pointless emails and letters that have nothing to do with exhortation or spiritual growth.

So today I really have no insightful scripture to share, but rather a thought that I have developed (with the help of my friend Emily), and a little tidbit to encourage all of us to use our emailing and chatting and that sort of thing (even writing letters, if that’s what suits your fancy!) as an opportunity not only to have fun, but also to exhort one another, and push each other forward in our walk with the Lord.

“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching” (Hebrews 10:25).