Jon-Mical is our 14 month old grandson and he is so smart. Yesterday Doris and I taught him a new trick in 5 seconds. We were listening to a worship CD and I noticed his little arms up over his head so I threw both of my arms up and said, “Praise Jesus!” You are not going to believe this but he caught it right away. He raised both hands up in jubilee and then clapped. HE IS SMART! The rest of the day every time I was around him I’d say “Praise Jesus” and both arms would go straight up in the air.
I couldn’t wait for Josh to pick him up so we could show off this new trick. When Josh came in I said, “We taught Jon-Mical a new thing today.” Before I had a chance to show of my toddler training skills Josh said, “Oh yeah? I forgot to show you what he’s been doing for a week.” He turned to Jon-Mical and said “TOUCHDOWN.” Jon-Mical’s arms shot straight up in the air and then he clapped and clapped. great.
I wonder how many times we are faced with new and challenging circumstances. Everything looks different and we are frightened. We turn to God in desperation hoping He has some new trick up his sleeve to teach us. Maybe there’s some special plan that He has kept hidden for 2000 years until just this minute, just for us.
And I wonder if God is not saying, “I taught you what to do a long time ago. Now just do it. The same old stuff works today like it did then. Consistent prayer. Confident faith. Unwavering trust.
Doris and I read every morning out of a little book we love titled, “Jesus Calling.” The verse for yesterday was old stuff. No new, fresh, revolutionary idea. Just the things we learned as kids in Sunday School. Say it with me. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”
We are facing a new day. There are things in the world, in the economy, in our lives that we have never seen before. I have a new suggestion. Let’s get back to the old ways, prayer, faith, trust. It works.
I couldn’t wait for Josh to pick him up so we could show off this new trick. When Josh came in I said, “We taught Jon-Mical a new thing today.” Before I had a chance to show of my toddler training skills Josh said, “Oh yeah? I forgot to show you what he’s been doing for a week.” He turned to Jon-Mical and said “TOUCHDOWN.” Jon-Mical’s arms shot straight up in the air and then he clapped and clapped. great.
I wonder how many times we are faced with new and challenging circumstances. Everything looks different and we are frightened. We turn to God in desperation hoping He has some new trick up his sleeve to teach us. Maybe there’s some special plan that He has kept hidden for 2000 years until just this minute, just for us.
And I wonder if God is not saying, “I taught you what to do a long time ago. Now just do it. The same old stuff works today like it did then. Consistent prayer. Confident faith. Unwavering trust.
Doris and I read every morning out of a little book we love titled, “Jesus Calling.” The verse for yesterday was old stuff. No new, fresh, revolutionary idea. Just the things we learned as kids in Sunday School. Say it with me. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.”
We are facing a new day. There are things in the world, in the economy, in our lives that we have never seen before. I have a new suggestion. Let’s get back to the old ways, prayer, faith, trust. It works.
Mike
PS The story above may have been embellished by an overly proud grandfather. Hey, what else is new?