Category Archives: God’s plans for us

I wanna do it!

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Emerald loves to help in the kitchen. Never mind that she’s only 7 months old. When I cut up my stir-fry veggies, she likes to sit in her Bumbo on the counter next to me, banging the broccoli against the counter-top or washing the pea pods with her drool.

Emerald assists in the kitchen

If I’m holding her when I open the refrigerator, she lunges toward its contents, fascinated by the variety of colors and shapes inside. This afternoon I decided she could help as I put food away and set her Bumbo in front of the fruit and veggie drawers. She happily banged them open and closed, sucked on the bag of mini-carrots, and rattled the salad dressing bottles overhead.

No doubt Emerald thinks of herself as wonderfully capable and wonders why she isn’t allowed to do everything the rest of us do. But of course there are several problems. She’s inexperienced, unqualified, and incapable. None of that stops her, though, from wanting to try.

When our Louisa began learning to put words together, one of her first (and oft-repeated) sentences was, “I wanna do-it!”

I wanna do it...

At age two, she wanted to accomplish things with skills she thought she had but didn’t. We all saw the disparity, but of course she couldn’t understand. Her desire was strong, and when we wouldn’t let her try something we knew she couldn’t handle, her objections were loud and long. But having a big dose of want-to isn’t enough to accomplish something beyond our capabilities.

How many times do we adults proceed just like baby Emerald or toddler Louisa, ill-equipped to handle a task but diving into it anyway? We think, “Somehow it’ll all work out in the end.” And when it doesn’t, we end up more frustrated than at the beginning.

Scripture says we should count the cost before starting any endeavor, and if we aren’t able to pay the necessary price, we shouldn’t start. This can be a discouraging place to be as we’re forced to wait before taking action, but what we can do while we’re waiting is work to become fit for the undertaking.

I think of the way God works in people’s lives and know we should imitate that. He usually takes his time putting all the pieces in place before unveiling his plans for us. That’s why it seems so long between our prayer requests and his answers. He doesn’t rush to get things completed in a hurry, and he never panics, but instead proceeds in an orderly way. We should determine to do the same, programming planning-pauses into our lives.

Baby Emerald will gain in skill as she gains in months, and toddler-Louisa has grown into a capable young adult. But all of us have to learn (one way or another) that when we “wanna do it right now,” our timing could very well be off.

And if we need to talk it over with someone who understands, Emerald is usually available.

“Hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (Romans 8:24-25)

Wealth Management

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This weekend our church held its yearly “Trash and Treasure” sale. Prices are unbeatable: appliances $3; blankets $2; jewelry $1; dishes 50 cents; books 25 cents; mugs 10 cents. One woman claimed she shopped for all her children’s clothes each year at our event.

Shoppers

It might be a good idea to rename the sale, “Trash to Treasure,” since buyers tote bags full of “cast-offs” out the door wearing broad smiles of triumph. My several bags were filled with toys, children’s books, a clock, a blanket, and games to play with my grandchildren.

Royal mug

I also bought a dark green coffee mug edged in gold that says, “By Appointment to His Majesty The King of Sweden.” Fabulous.

The old adage that one person’s trash is another’s treasure is entirely true, evidenced by the amount of stuff that disappeared from the church tables yesterday. But that statement also applies to intangibles that can’t be pulled from attics, basements, or garages. Consider the valuables of prayer, devotional time, Bible study, discussion of scripture, church services, anticipation of heaven. These, to me, are treasures too, but not everyone would agree. Amazingly, some folks would actually label these “trash”.

I know a man who declares himself an atheist. He has no interest in the Word of God and doesn’t have any use for information about how to be “saved from sin.” Attending worship services is a waste of his time, and thoughts of heaven (or hell) are laughable. Prayer and Bible study? Only for those who aren’t strong enough to manage life without some “religious component” to lean on.

My treasure is his trash.

Advertising

And just as we at the church posted a sign out front advertising the upcoming sale, signs advertising spiritual treasure are all around this man. His choice, though, is to bypass them without checking to see if what they’re advertising might be of some value. Maybe he did investigate earlier in life, but if so, his choice was to place other things ahead of the Father, Son, and Spirit on his list of life-treasures. Actually, he chose to leave them off the list entirely.

But that’s the key: he chose.

All of us get the chance to choose, and as a result, we have to take responsibility for the consequences. If we don’t study the Bible, however, we don’t know what the consequences are. I’m praying for the soul of my atheist acquaintance, because God has said he doesn’t want even one person to miss out on the treasures he offers, which include riches beyond our imagining.

The atheist is right about one thing, though. Oftentimes I am weak as I travel through life’s struggles, and I do need “a religious component” to lean on. His name is Jesus Christ….

….and he’s the greatest Treasure of all.

“Serve the Lord alone. But if you refuse to serve the Lord, then choose today whom you will serve.“ (Joshua 24:14-15)

Time to panic?

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Keep calm...Most of us are familiar with the poster, “KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON.” I first saw it in the home of Hans’ bride, Katy, when our family arrived in England for their wedding. It was 2007, and because of the kingly crown on the poster, I figured it was strictly British. The sentiment applied nicely as busy wedding preparations saw us sometimes becoming un-calm, though we did do well at carrying on.

Apparently that poster was created by the British government at the beginning of World War II. Officials wanted to be ready with inspiration, should mass air attacks occur in major cities. Although 800,000 posters were printed, few were circulated as the war intensified, mostly because authorities thought the message trivialized the gravity of the situation. After that, the posters all but disappeared.

Then in the year 2000, one of the originals was rediscovered in the bottom of a box of books. Today the slogan has grown into an international industry and is printed on everything from mugs and aprons to notebooks and food packaging.

Although the “keep calm” motto has been altered in all kinds of ways (Keep calm and drink wine, Keep spending and carry on shopping, etc.), the original idea is still a pretty good one. It’s even scriptural.

In Isaiah 7, the Almighty was speaking when he said, “Be careful, keep calm and don’t be afraid. Do not lose heart.” (v. 4) He was talking to a king in similar circumstances to World War II, telling him not to panic over what appeared to be certain defeat by a powerful army. God reassured him by saying, “Keep calm, because I’m controlling  things.”

But he didn’t just leave him hanging by telling him to stay calm without telling him how. He followed his instructions with letting the king know he’d have to do something, too: “If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all.” (v. 9)

The British poster campaign was eventually considered a “misjudgment of the mood of the people.” But maybe that’s because they weren’t told how to stay calm. If mass air attacks in large cities were the order of the day, people couldn’t remain calm for long… unless of course God endowed them with the ability to do so.

He did that in the Isaiah passage and is willing to do it for us today. In Philippians we read, “God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” (2:13) And it pleases him when we stay calm in a crisis, because it proves we’re trusting him for the outcome.

So, when circumstances tempt us to panic, we shouldn’t ask God for relief from the situation but for strength to stand firm in our faith all the way through. After that, keeping calm and carrying on should be no problem.

“You need not be afraid of sudden disaster or the destruction that comes upon the wicked, for the Lord is your security.” (Proverbs 3:25-26)