Daily Reading: Proverbs 31, Psalm 21, 51, 81
This morning I have had such a desire to solve problems. I am anxious to be about the tasks of making things work. Our little house on McKeige Dr. is still sitting empty. It’s a cute little house and I cannot understand fully why it is not sold after all this time. I know that God has a time-table that He works with and I am sure that it will sell eventually and that He has it all under control, but I began to feel this morning that I may need to make some phone calls. Maybe we should rent the house. Maybe there is someone at the Gideon’s (where I used to work) that needs a place. Their office is literally 2 miles away. Maybe I should just call over there and ask if there’s anyone looking for a place. Maybe we should buy the house next door and rent that too. Maybe that’s what I’m supposed to do. I could take care of it. I could manage it. As long as we have an account for repairs and for updates…it could be my job to handle those houses. To make sure they get rented and make sure that our income is coming in. I have resources…Kris’ brother rents a couple places…I could get pointers from him on how to best manage problems and concerns. I started thinking of the verse in Proverbs 31…
Proverbs 31:16 “She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.” The Proverbs 31 woman was a business woman. She looked at what was available, what she needed and she did something about it. Why shouldn’t I do that?
And what about Proverbs 31:11 & 12 “The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. (12) She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.” It’s my job to be a help to Kris. I could do this.
I almost went to the phone right then but something checked my spirit. Don’t you think it would be better to maybe spend some time in the Word before just making a crazy phone call? If you want your husband to trust you, than he will want to know that you are using caution and wisdom in your decisions. You can’t have those things without the Word of God. So I stopped and sat down at my little quiet time computer and began my daily reading. Psalm 21…that’s not pertinent. Psalm 51…nothing. I began to pray. “God, I want to know what I need to do.” I felt a tug at my heart and reflected once again on the truth of who God wants to be in my life. Yes, He has all the answers, and yes, He wants me to come to Him to get them. He is also my loving Father. He wants me to just come to Him with or without questions. I sat back and took a breath and asked him again what I should do and I imagined him smiling and putting my head in his chest as he securely embraced me. “Just rest”, He said. I gave in and found Him again. This time I read Psalm 81 and I could really hear Him in His Word.
Psalm 81:10-16 “I am the LORD thy God, which brought thee out of the land of Egypt: open thy mouth wide, and I will fill it. (11) But my people would not hearken to my voice; and Israel would none of me. (12) So I gave them up unto their own hearts’ lust: and they walked in their own counsels. (13) Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! (14) I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. (15) The haters of the LORD should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. (16) He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.”
He is not holding out on me or Kris by this house not selling. He doesn’t do that. He wants us to stop gritting our teeth trying to figure out what to do and open our mouths wide…so He can fill them. I don’t want to walk in my own counsel…I want to know the mind of Christ. The single-minded, lowly, alive, responsive, pure and peaceful mind of Christ. Christ did nothing without the advice and commission of the Father. How arrogant must we seem when we don’t consider first the will of the one who loves us more than we can love ourselves. Verse 14 says that He was about to do what was needed…He was on the verge of solving their problem when they got impatient and did it their way. What we gain on our own can never compare to what He has planned for us…He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee. He can produce honey from a rock. He can produce something out of nothing. That’s the kind of God He is…I don’t have to work so hard at making things happen…I just have to be about the business of doing what I already know to do. When the phone rings and the answers come…His Word is confirmed and the Kingdom of God is at hand.