Wednesday, May 24, 2017

God Sovereign - Part 3

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. 
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road…have a blessed day!
NOTES

 I Title image: Julius Schnorr von Carolsfeld [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

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