Yesterday morning at daylight I was walking down the beach. A red fireball of a sun was just appearing on the horizon and the waves were restlessly churning back and forth relentlessly pounding the shoreline.
Just the day before I’d watched the sun come up on Honey Lake and the water was as smooth as glass. It was picturesque, peaceful, and calm and the only interruption was a snowy white ibis lazily flying just above the water.
I was thinking of the contrast between the angriness and turmoil of the sea and the tranquil gentleness of Honey Lake and it reminded me of the difference between the young and old within our human race. I thought of the hate-filled, bitter older people in the world who seem intent upon destroying this beautiful earth, its inhabitants, and themselves. Then I look at youngsters like my grandkids that are not a part of the chaos and disorder going on around them, and are instead happily playing and frolicking through childhood without a care in the world.
Jesus said something very poignant in Matt. 19:14: “Then some children were brought to Him so that He might lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, “Let the children alone, and do not hinder them from coming to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. After laying His hands on them, He departed from there”
I don’t see angry waves in heaven; just peace and calm. God wants us to rest in Him and we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to begin the process, but we do have to humble ourselves and become like children: Mark 10:15 “Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”
Soon after becoming a Christian Bill Bright and his wife Vonette made a contract with the Lord which they reduced to writing. It said in essence that they wanted to become slaves to Jesus Christ. Every morning they would get out of bed and reaffirm that contract on bended knee.
He was interviewed one time by a major magazine and asked what kept him up at night. He queried: “What do you worry about Bill?”
He replied, “Why I don’t worry about anything”.
The reporter was obviously agitated and said, “Everyone worries about something! Please tell me what it is that worries you the most.”
Bill replied, “I’m just a slave. Slaves don’t worry; we just follow our master’s orders and leave the worrying to Him”.
Vonette told me that he would often seem to nod off when his ministry leadership would be in some serious meeting in order to discuss some monumentally important problem that had everyone else in a tizzy. Like a trusting child Bill knew that God was in control and that things would work out for the good and he wasn’t about to spend his time worrying about it, or questioning God’s timing or solutions.
That is faith. We should all be so trusting in God to work things out. We could save billions of dollars on anxiety medicine if we could just follow suite.
Matt. 11:28
“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS . . .
September 1, 2014 – Click here to listen