Today's Scripture Reading: “My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, [2] for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. [3] Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. [4] Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man. [5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. [7] Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. [8] This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones. [9] Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; [10] then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” Proverbs 3:1-10 (NIV)
It’s about coming smack up against a brick wall and seeing no gates whatsoever – or even any loose bricks.
It’s about coming to the end of our wisdom, the end of our strength, the end of our ideas, the end of our options, the end of our coping skills, and the end of our cherished dreams.
It’s about standing in that dark, hopeless place and discovering – beyond all logic, against all hope – that God is very much alive and can fill our little cup to overflowing.
If you have ever been to a circus you have seen elephants tethered to a chain that is connected to a stake in the ground. You may not realize that that stake is only eighteen inches long and that elephant can easily pull that stake up, because a grown man has to pull the stake up to free the elephant. Now if a grown man can pull up the stake, why doesn't the elephant pull that stake out of the ground and free himself?
Well, when that elephant was a baby, he did not have the strength to pull that stake out of the ground. After years of trying, the elephant concludes that he can never pull it out of the ground. So in circuses all over the world there are massive elephants, capable of lifting entire trees out of the ground by their roots, held captive by scrawny stakes.
Likewise, there are many people reading this who are chained to the stakes of sin, sorrow, and suffering who could be free in an instant if they would just trust Jesus.
We need a faith that can conceive the invisible; we need a faith that can believe the incredible; we need a faith that can receive the impossible.
Proverbs 3 is literally a father speaking to his son telling him. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
It’s about coming smack up against a brick wall and seeing no gates whatsoever – or even any loose bricks.
It’s about coming to the end of our wisdom, the end of our strength, the end of our ideas, the end of our options, the end of our coping skills, and the end of our cherished dreams.
It’s about standing in that dark, hopeless place and discovering – beyond all logic, against all hope – that God is very much alive and can fill our little cup to overflowing.
If you have ever been to a circus you have seen elephants tethered to a chain that is connected to a stake in the ground. You may not realize that that stake is only eighteen inches long and that elephant can easily pull that stake up, because a grown man has to pull the stake up to free the elephant. Now if a grown man can pull up the stake, why doesn't the elephant pull that stake out of the ground and free himself?
Well, when that elephant was a baby, he did not have the strength to pull that stake out of the ground. After years of trying, the elephant concludes that he can never pull it out of the ground. So in circuses all over the world there are massive elephants, capable of lifting entire trees out of the ground by their roots, held captive by scrawny stakes.
Likewise, there are many people reading this who are chained to the stakes of sin, sorrow, and suffering who could be free in an instant if they would just trust Jesus.
We need a faith that can conceive the invisible; we need a faith that can believe the incredible; we need a faith that can receive the impossible.
Proverbs 3 is literally a father speaking to his son telling him. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
No comments:
Post a Comment