Saturday, September 20, 2014

Good Morning, Father - Part 6 - Trust

Sometimes I clean out files and find things I have written and set aside then forgotten. When I rediscover these musings, it’s not unlike finding myself when I didn’t even know I was missing. 

I am going to share, over the coming posts, one at a time, a small collection of devotionals I wrote over a decade ago, titled, Good Morning, Father. In His unfathomable wisdom, He knew I would need these affirmations and faith strengthening words in a future time unknown to me as I typed them. And now the time has come.

May you be blessed with whatever you need.

For Him,
Meema
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Introduction 

Sunrise is the renewal of a promise. A chance to begin again, afresh, with all the bad choices of the previous days behind us, every new day is an opportunity to seek to serve God and use whatever time we have remaining to us better than we have ever done before.  We cannot know how many mornings we are granted, but if we make it through the night to see another dawn, we are given the gift of time, at least once more, to get it right. For by the amazing grace of our Sovereign God all the wrong living we have done in the past is forgiven and forgotten in the instant we are willing to surrender and move forward toward Him and His will, relinquishing our own.

Though the days we have wasted cannot be changed, the new one, unfolding in front of us, holds the promise to be the one that could make it all okay.

It’s our choice.

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Good Morning, Father,

I thought we were going to talk about patience this morning, while  I was sitting very still, my finger poised to hit the shutter button. Photographing hummingbirds does require a certain amount of patience.  But as I waited and watched your tiny winged creatures dart in and  out from their safe perches in the trees to the feeder and back, I realized there was something else to ponder, leaving the sticky  topic of patience for another day.

The hummingbirds that have claimed this feeder guard it against all intruders. Not being schooled in hummingbird culture, I don’t know why they are so territorial, but it appears to me it is likely that it’s just about the instinct of survival. They are doing what they are compelled to do. They happened upon this bounteous supply of life giving sustenance and they protect it for themselves with their lives. They aren’t about to share because the hummingbirds have no idea that I exist and can and would be willing to refill it for them indefinitely. 

As I studied their routine, flitting in to drink, then off to guard from a distance, I felt sorry for the Ruby-Throated who kept trying for a chance to partake. For a few moments a part of me wanted to find a way to thwart the sentinels who would not share. But nothing I could think of felt right. Every consideration went against nature and more to the point it went against my nature. It is not in my nature to intervene even if some of the birds must suffer from want and lack because of the choices of others. Of course, I would love to see them share and nurture each other, but I can’t make them. It would be artificial and tiring to be forever manipulating how they behaved. How satisfying it would be to see them realize it for themselves and behave nobly on their own.
And what will they do when I must stop filling the feeder in October so that they will go south for the winter? My desire to feed them is strong, and I dread watching them come to where the feeder was, hungry and desperate. It will be hard to watch. But I know that if I keep the feeder full, they will die from the harsh cold that they are not equipped to survive. The benevolence of my providing the feeder must not overcome the greater good of encouraging them to do what is in their best interest even though they don’t understand the bigger picture.

Even if they knew that I existed, or acknowledged me as their benefactor, would they be angry with me for removing the food they need? Would they hate me? Would they declare that I don’t or can’t exist because they are experiencing the hardship of an empty feeder? Would they determine that I am not fit to be their overseer or worthy of their trust because they see an empty feeder as unconscionable injustice at the hand of a capricious and unfeeling nonentity? 
And if some of them had evolved enough to believe that I existed and reached out in petition for the feeder to be returned, would they lose their faith if I didn’t do it? How many of them will surely die if they don’t see the importance of abandoning the spot where the feeder was and go south to avoid the coming freezing temperatures?
Oh, dear Father, is this how it feels to You, to love your children and wish to do for them, to long to guide them, and then have them deny or curse You when they can’t understand the hardships that must befall them and that make them move on? When they do not trust You?

I’m sorry, Father, for the heartache. I think I understand now, though I doubt I could survive the pain You must feel.

Your servant,

Meema


12 comments:

  1. On your first posting in this series, I was reminded of a prayer I pray - Lord, when to speak and when to keep silent, I often mistake the two. Grant me Your Wisdom.
    In the second posting in this series I was reminded of when I asked Jesus for understanding regarding the devil. He explained to me that decisions made in the spirit realm are final. The devil does not get another chance. That is one reason the devil hates us so much. God forgives our repentant hearts over and over again. However, once we leave here, if we have not chosen Him we do not get another chance. That is why it is so critical that each of us accept His Salvation while we are alive here and now. Part 2 of this - I could not understand all the buzz about the Powers-That-Be wanting to kill off the majority of people. Why? To what end? Because the majority have not accepted the Salvation of Christ Jesus. Before the great and terrible day of the Lord, He will pour out His Spirit and people will turn to Him. But they can't if they are already dead. The numbers matter.
    Then I read this third posting in the series and it did not remind me of anything. This is a new thought for me, but it so clearly explains why sometimes seemingly bad things happen to good people. All things work together for good to those that love the Lord.
    Thank you, Meema
    Debbie

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    1. Yes, the numbers matter and I agree that satan knows he has no more chances and that is indeed one reason he hates us so and is working overtime to kill off as many as possible while they are still in sin. I see this manifested in human behavior as jealousy, vindictiveness and grudge-bearing. All too common now. Surely a sign?

      For Him,
      Meema

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    2. Interesting quote from Oswald Chambers in My Utmost today - seems to apply:

      Our Lord never takes measures to make me do what He wants. Sometimes I wish God would master and control me to make me do what He wants, but He will not. And at other times I wish He would leave me alone, and He does not.

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  2. Oops! It is actually posting 4, 5 & 6 not 1, 2 & 3 I was referring to. Sorry for the mixup.

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  3. Funny thing . . . I used to pray "Father, just slip a letter of instructions under the door for me" I can follow clear instructions and prayed frequently for that - I did not even need to see the messenger. Obviously it has not worked that way but I sure tried my best to get one! Yeah, I know the Bible is our manual but I felt I needed more - directed specifically to me and my life.

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    1. I think personality types figure in significantly when talking about those who prefer a delineated ‘to-do’ list and those who prefer to live by the seat of their pants and hear day to day how to be and do, getting it wrong as often as getting it right (that would describe me). I’ve thought about this at length because I am a life-long student of human nature. I’ve wondered why some folks are attracted to a rigid religion or even a cult and some aren’t. Why do some people take the narrow view of religion as though a man-made doctrine or 'traditions of men' (Mark 7:8) defines Christ and then by rejecting the religion also therefore reject Christ, throwing the baby out with the bath water so to speak.

      The answer for me comes down to the different types of people. He made us all different but not ungroupable. I think the original perfect plan was for us to be, as diverse individuals, synergistic. In other words, all our strengths and weaknesses should compliment each other so that we become a sum greater than its parts. But, alas, that had to be tabled shortly after Adam and Eve made the first bad choice. Since then all our weaknesses and strengths mostly put us at odds with each other, forever determined that believing one way or another is the ‘right’ way. And all along, our manual, the Bible, is misinterpreted to fit what each denomination holds fast to.

      One day, all this confusion and mayhem will come to a close. Might be sooner than anyone realizes.

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    2. To finish the story . . . I was talking to a couple and they were relaying a contention between them. She was home with the kids and some days was frazzled. To her, if her husband came home and analyzed the situation, he should offer something (e.g. a dinner out, or watching the kids so she could have time to herself, etc.). He stated that IF SHE CLEARLY TOLD HIM what she needed he would do it. She stated he should not have to be cleared told. Loving someone means you put their needs before your own. Listening to them gave me insight to my "just slip instructions under the door" approach with God. Changed my attitude. Recently I read a post (apologies to the author I don't remember their name) that said God will use you if He can, pray "make me usable" and He will wear you out! I like this.

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    3. Just curious - what made you equate usable with truthful? To me, usable equates more to unselfish, not self promoting, non self righteous, more of Him and less of me.

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    4. Well this is just my take on it. No doubt selflessness is required for the job of serving but before one can become selfless one must be truthful inside and out because recognizing and honoring truth is the foundation of faith. (John 14:16) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and the life: no one cometh unto the Father, but by me.

      If we don’t know truth, if we are not honest first with ourselves, we can’t be honest with others and therefore we are not usable to God. Liars won’t enter Heaven unfortunately so much of modern Christian doctrine is based on lies and half truths.

      Tozer said it better than I can:

      Only the Spirit of the Holy One can impart to the human spirit the knowledge of the holy. Yet as electric power flows only through a conductor, so the Spirit flows through truth and must find some measure of truth in the mind before He can illuminate the heart. Faith wakes at the voice of truth but responds to no other sound. "Faith cometh by bearing, and hearing by the word of God." Theological knowledge is the medium through which the Spirit flows into the human heart, yet there must be humble penitence in the heart before truth can produce faith. The Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth. It is possible to have some truth in the mind without having the Spirit in the heart, but it is never possible to have the Spirit apart from truth.

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  4. Yes, yes, this is an age old man/woman thing. Women want men to be intuitive like they are and men want women to be frank like they are. It takes a lot of years together for men and women to get in sync.

    Applying this to the bigger relationship, i.e., one on One, the “make me usable” prayer falls under the “be careful what you wish” category because what God wants is for us to be truthful, like He is. ;-)

    My brother sent a link to a teaching that his brother-in-law presented to a men’s group he attends at a church in Houston, Texas. Apparently he doesn’t belong to the church but he was invited to speak to a men’s prayer group some time ago. They were about 10-12 attending at the time. They loved him so much he is a regular. The attendance has swelled to 100 or more. Anyway I am sharing this 50 minute audio because it is so powerful, so direct and just says it like it is.

    Hope this link works. You might have to copy/paste it into the browser.
    For Him,
    Meema

    http://www.mdpc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/2014_09_30_mlc.mp3

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    1. Yes, it worked. Thank you. What a wonderful reminder about the power of praise and worship! All hail the power of Jesus' Name.

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    2. He's a Dear Heart. We sorely need more men speaking to men like this.

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