Yesterday, I went to get my make-up bag out of my purse and it was gone … my purse that is. I wasn’t too worried because, well, maybe, I left it in the car. Since I wasn’t quite ready for my public, my husband went out to the car to search for it. No luck. So both of us searched the house over. Ugh. I went on to work and as I was driving I began to think about where I might have left it … maybe at work?
But I had a lot of other things going on that day. So I wasn’t particularly worried about a lost purse. God knew where my purse was and I felt certain that it would reveal itself after a while. Nevertheless, I called the church secretary to see if I’d left it there and I did ask around at school to see if anyone perhaps had seen it or picked it up … just in case. One of the secretaries jumped up and said, “Let me come with you and we’ll search the school for it.” I was so surprised at her love and care and concern. But I felt certain that I hadn’t truly left it at the school because … I never take my purse out of the car at school because … my purse basically holds my make-up and my driver’s license and my credit card, none of which I can use at school. But I was very touched by her concern. Then a sweet fifth grader offered to help me search for my purse and in fact came up to me later in the day and with the deepest concern was wondering if I had found my purse. I reassured her that God in fact knew exactly where it was at and that I was sure that He would reveal it to me in His time.
Their concern troubled me … was I not being worried enough? Was I taking this too lightly? Was there really something to be worried about? I began pondering all that a lost purse would mean to me. I would need to cancel my credit card. I would have to get a new driver’s license. I would have to buy another set of make-up stuff. All of which would require time and money … which is in short supply at this time. I felt the beginnings of trouble stirring in my heart, my peace was beginning to leave me, other matters that needed my attention were being crowded out by this new concern, that hadn’t been a concern.
That evening I was back at the church for another meeting. The church secretary asked me if I’d found my purse and as I was explaining to her that I hadn’t another woman who’d been at the first meeting the other day asked, “The Bambi purse?” Aha! She’d picked it up after our meeting the other night. In fact she’d called me to ask if I’d left a Bambi tote … but my mind was on other things … and I hadn’t ‘lost’ my purse yet … so I wasn’t looking for it … and what was she talking about?
Two things occur to me through this experience.
One, I wonder how many things that I’ve ‘lost’ or perhaps don’t even know are ‘lost’ yet has God tried to tell me about but my mind was too full of other concerns or thoughts?
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” Matthew 7:24-29
Two, how many times have I lost my peace because I focused on what other people thought about a situation. My friend’s concern was very touching and sweet. But I began to wonder if they were right to be concerned. Instead of taking my concern to God, I let myself see my situation from their point of view instead of from God’s point of view.
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. … or where your purse is. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34
Does your mind ever get full of other things? Do you sometimes let other people’s lack of peace worry you? I encourage you today to hears these words of (His) and put them into practice and to not worry about your life because your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
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