by Gail Gritts
Be the saint you are. Face this imperfect old world for what it is, it too is groaning and waiting to be delivered from brokenness – it is temporary. Keep your eyes on the eternal prize, and let the Lord sustain you.
The Golden Rule is something our children should have planted in their hearts. It will help them with behaviour throughout their lives and give them an excellent gauge by which to judge their own actions.
Several years ago, my husband and I were traveling in America, somewhere in Texas, I think. Anyway, we were in between meetings waiting in the hotel room for the next appointment time, watching TV and reading, and just waiting when I opened the curtains to look outside.
We were on the third or fourth floor of the hotel, so we had a good view. Outside the window was a telephone line or some sort of long wire, and as I looked, there was a clump on the line. It was just far enough away that I couldn’t make it out for a while, but as I watched, I noticed a bird swooping and diving back and forth around the clump.
After a bit of time, I noticed some tiny feet. Eventually, the little clump became six baby birds, all spreading themselves out on the line. The mother bird kept swooping and diving and calling her little brood to follow.
Obviously, this was their first flight. They were hanging on for dear life, trying to keep their balance, as the line swayed in the wind. We watched for about 45 minutes as they clung on, and their mother kept trying to get one brave little soul to take the plunge. We had to go before we saw them fly, but they were gone by the time we got back.
I’ve often thought of those little birds. They were scared to death. This was their first attempt, though, I thought, they had to fly from the nest to the wire! Or maybe they fell to the wire, and they didn’t like that feeling!
Anyway, at times, we can be like those little birds. We have our claws wrapped around what we think is safe, and we don’t dare let go. We don’t want to fall again. We’ve found a place to hang on, and that’s where we want to stay. But God, just like that mother bird, is calling us to let go and trust Him.
Is the wire the safest place for the little birds in the long run? No, they must learn to fly if they are going to survive. And God knows that what we are desperately hanging onto is not the best for us, as well. We need to let go and trust Him. To learn to fly by faith!
One of the most wonderful sermons I ever heard on Psalm 23 was by Bro Tyrone Adrian. He was speaking on depression, but he made one verbal picture that stuck in my head and my heart.
He said, “You can’t have a shadow without light.” Do you understand? Light is what causes the shadow, or rather, the obstruction of light creates it. So, when Psalm 23 says, “Yeah, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,” it is a sure sign that there is light somewhere!
And God is that light, even in the valley, He is shining behind the clouds creating His shadow! So, the psalmist continues, “I will fear no evil, for thou are with me.” We have to look beyond the clouds, outside our prison walls, up to the hills, from whence cometh our help so we can survive and continue to thrive.
Jeremiah Burroughs writes, “A great man will permit common people to stand outside his doors, but he will not let them come in and make a noise in his closet or bedroom when he has deliberately retired from worldly business.” In other words, a quiet heart knows how to order life. It keeps work and home life protected by good boundaries.