Wednesday, May
24, 2017
So
far we have looked at two major truths about understanding the nature of God’s
sovereignty: First, God is not random in
what He does, and second, that tends to mess with your plans. And yesterday we began our follow-up of how
to cooperate with God Sovereign…that you make your life’s plans with eternity in focus.
This
morning we want to begin unpacking what it means to do that, keeping your focus
on who you are, and Whose
you are.
Meanwhile,
friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers 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. James 5:7-8(NLT)
James uses
the illustration of the farmer. Prepare,
plant, protect, nurture, and…….wait – then harvest! It’s a long process, but God made it so. When you come to the table of life, bring
patience. How, preacher? I don’t know…you have to work that out for
yourself. But, mainly, you ask God for
it, because it is not natural. We are
all impatient. Trust me on this one; you
must want patience desperately
in order to cultivate it.
And while
you’re working on developing patience, make certain you’re working on the right
kind of crop, remembering that eternity is long, and whatever you sow is what
you will definitely reap.
Eddie was
member of a church I once served. Eddie
practiced a different kind of sowing
method. I saw it firsthand one Friday when
four of us played golf.
Eddie and another
church member, Jeff, were in one cart; Al and I shared a second cart. The four of us plodded along, with no TV
cameras broadcasting the shame we were bringing to the art of playing golf. Then on one hole with a wide fairway, my
partner, Al, drove his ball way off to the left and the rest of us hit ours off
to the right side. After we located my
partner’s lone ball on the left, we drove to where Eddie and Jeff were waiting
with the other three balls. As we were crossing
the fairway, we saw Eddie kicking a ball into the sand trap…then he stepped on
it – hard! He was definitely sowing that golf ball – he
mashed it into the ground!
When we caught
up with them, Eddie had that look on his face – something like a fox with a key
to the henhouse in hand. He said, as he
pointed to the golf ball seedling mashed into the sand trap: Preacher,
YOUR ball is in an awful fix.
I got up close to the ball – it wasn’t mine! Jeff looked – it wasn’t his; the only ball it
could be belonged to our resident golf
ball farmer, Eddie!
And, trust
me here at this point also; there are some things you can’t make up! I am certain Eddie was just having fun teasing
me, but it turned on him and we all had a great laugh over a practical joker
getting a taste of his own medicine. Folks, believe it when the Bible says YOUR SINS WILL FIND YOU OUT.
For You Today
Having
patience means playing fair and trusting God!
In the end His sovereign will is going to be served. So, with eternity in focus, remember Eddie: whatever you sow is the same ball you’ll have
to hit out of the sand trap.
NOTES
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