Monday Morning Devotion-May 15, 2021
Need a Miracle? Be Patient
Be patient as you wait for the Lord's return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near. James 5:7-8
From Tony Dungy's terrific devotional book "The One Year Uncommon Life Daily
Challenge" comes the story that sparked today's idea for a devotion:
"The story is told of a man who was caught stealing in a far-off kingdom. As he was brought before the king, he was informed that the penalty for stealing is death. Despite the stress of the inevitable, the man seemed relatively calm. He knew that the king had a beloved, prized horse that was treated like a member of the family. And the thief planned on playing a hunch.
When the man was brought before the king to be judged and sent to his execution, the thief asked if he could say a few words. The king agreed.
'Your Majesty, I know you have a wonderful horse. If you will give me one year to work with him, I will teach your horse to talk. If I am successful, you will spare my life.' The king thought over the man's offer for a moment and agreed.
On the way out of the king's chamber, one of the man's friends said, 'Are you crazy? You can't teach the horse to talk! You'll be dead in a year.' To which the temporarily reprieved man replied, 'You may be right. But you know what? A lot can happen in a year. I may die of natural causes, the king may die, or°the horse may talk.'"
Sometimes when we face a difficult situation or trying times in our life we may feel backed into a corner. We may have a need for horse talk. In other words, we need a miracle.
The good news is that God is in the miracle business. He throws miracles at us all the time. We may not recognize them as such at the time but each one represents something that only God could create and cause to happen.
And then there comes the time when we feel helpless and we need a big miracle. Not to worry! God can handle that too. Trust Him. He may not take care of and resolve the situation or circumstance in the way we expect or even in the way that we had hoped for, but when we allow His plan to prevail, instead of messing it up, things work out for the best.
Dungy says: "Sometimes life looks bleak, especially when we think we know what tomorrow will bring. The reality is that we don't know, either for better or for worse. Tomorrow is but a fog. Not panicking, but instead letting God work things out isn't a bad thing. We're aware of the situation but our faith is in God, not in what we can do to work it out."
The Message tells us: "Meanwhile friends, wait patiently for the Master's Arrival. You see the farmer's do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time. "
The Life Appreciation Study Bible (LAB) makes this point: "The farmer must wait patiently for his crops to grow. He cannot hurry the process. But he does not take the summer off and hope that all goes well in the fields. There is much work to do to ensure a good harvest. In the same way, we must wait patiently for Christ's return. We cannot make Him come back any sooner. But while we wait, there is much work that we can do to advance God's Kingdom. Both the farmer and the Christian must live by faith looking toward the future reward for their labors."
Sometimes God may even complicate your life further before he showers the blessings upon you. Even then you may not recognize them, at first, for the miracle that they are. I know in my own life the Lovely Susette and I met each other a little later in our lives. We realized what a blessing that was when we got married.
But God wasn't and isn't through with us yet. And of course, when He works a miracle in your life sometimes you stop and think: "What's up with that God?" That's pretty much what we were wondering when God revealed to us that he wanted us to take our granddaughter, Ellee, in to live with us and to raise.
"Really God. We are seniors and she is (at the time) two-and-a-half years old (now five+). Do we have the strength, the energy even the understanding of how to do this? We've already raised our kids. They are grown and out on their own. Times are different."
Now we realize that God was working a miracle in our lives so he could work a miracle in this little one's life too. Not that it is all peaches and cream, nor will it be in the future. But we know now this is a miracle that only an amazing God, who loves us, could bring about.
Now about that miracle that seems to be taking a long time coming in your life. Dungy's advice is: "Don't count yourself out too early. Sometimes things work out in unexpected ways. Sometimes action is the best course in assisting God, but sometimes sitting back and letting God work is best.
Because sometimes, the miraculous happens.
The horse may talk!"
Prayer: Lord thank you for every miracle in our lives---past, present and those to come.
Amen!