Fear God, and give glory to Him

Flexibility

Go to now, ye that say, Today or tomorrow we will begin our spring housecleaning, and get a  room done each day, and scrub and vacuum, and get organized: 

“Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.  For that ye ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or that.  But now ye rejoice in your boastings: all such rejoicing is evil.  Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.” (James 4:14 – 17)

This is something I am trying to learn.  The Lord has been blessing me with many opportunities to practice, and see how flexible I really am.  Do I allow Him to change my schedule, to upset my plans, whenever He wants to?  I say that His way is always best, but how do I react when I need to change my thinking and readjust my schedule?  Can I do so joyfully, thankfully?  Can I keep my affection set on things above, instead of on things of this earth?  Can I see this change in my plans as an opportunity to lay up treasure in heaven?

When my day already seems too full, needing to clean house and pack suitcases in preparation for a trip, and unexpected visitors appear and stay for dinner... 

When the bed is piled high with sweet-smelling laundry, and I am happily settling down to fold it, and a young mother comes by wondering if I can help her sew for a couple hours...

When I tackle the mending pile with enthusiasm, and shortly thereafter my husband hears about a sick neighbor and asks me to go along and visit...

Of course there are lots of other smaller interruptions – a mother’s life is full of such things – spilled milk just before bedtime, on my little boy who’s fresh out of the bathtub, and then more spilled milk on another clean boy AND my nicely mopped floor.  J

I’m glad to remind myself that the mending pile and  dust in the corners  will be completely insignificant and forgotten in eternity.  And since I want to lay up treasures in heaven, then I will cheerfully lay aside my own  ambitions when an interruption comes, seeing it as an opportunity from the Lord.  

Thank you, dear Father, for these opportunities that you give me each day.  Thank you that You are in control of my life, and that I can rest in Your wisdom.  Father, I want to be faithful and joyfully accept your direction each day, remembering that this life is only a vapor.  Help me to seek Your kingdom first, and righteousness, and keep the duties of this life secondary.  “Your will, not mine, be done.”

Untitled Comment

03:49 PM, Monday, May 19, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

Flexible! Like today we planned to go together to the thrift store and suddenly brother Johnathan wants Wilbur to go along to Springfield to find some pastors to talk to. The Lord has a purpose in these changes to our plans even if we don't know them.
Joanna