He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of me. Matthew 10:37, 38.
As Elijah, divinely directed in seeking a successor, passed the field in which Elisha was plowing, he cast upon the young man’s shoulders the mantle of consecration…. To him it was the signal that God had called him to be the successor of Elijah…. Elisha must count the cost—decide for himself to accept or reject the call. If his desires clung to his home and its advantages, he was at liberty to remain there. But Elisha understood the meaning of the call…. Not for any worldly advantage would he forgo the opportunity of becoming God’s messenger, or sacrifice the privilege of association with His servant…. Without hesitation he left a home where he was beloved, to attend the prophet in his uncertain life.3Ibid., 219, 220.
Because they are not connected with some directly religious work, many feel that their lives are useless, that they are doing nothing for the advancement of God’s kingdom…. Because they can serve only in little things, they think themselves justified in doing nothing. In this they err. A man may be in the active service of God while engaged in the ordinary, everyday duties—while felling trees, clearing the ground, or following the plow. The mother who trains her children for Christ is as truly working for God as is the minister in the pulpit.
Many long for special talent with which to do a wonderful work, while the duties lying close at hand, the performance of which would make the life fragrant, are lost sight of…. Success depends not so much on talent as on energy and willingness. It is not the possession of splendid talents that enables us to render acceptable service, but the conscientious performance of daily duties, the contented spirit, the unaffected, sincere interest in the welfare of others. In the humblest lot true excellence may be found. The commonest tasks, wrought with loving faithfulness, are beautiful in God’s sight.4Ibid., 219.
Conflict and Courage p. 219
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Prayer Requests
—-Please pray for a friend who is making a wrong decision regarding her daughter. Pray that God will intervene. Buck
—-Please pray for Jeff whose dad passed this week. Jennifer
—-Please pray for my client and friend, Bill, who was just diagnosed with colon cancer. Linda
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Dear Friends,
Computers can be very strange at times. One time some years ago, Eileen called me while I was at work and said that the computer crashed and then rebooted itself. She turned it off. When she turned it back on, it made strange beeping noises. When I got home and tried turning it on, I found she was right: it did make strange noises. I tried clicking on various icons on the desktop, but nothing would work right. I wasn’t sure what to do. I called Ron. He said he would look at it when he got home.
Arriving home, Ron went right to the computer to see what problems it was having. He opened the drawer, got out the rescue disk, and turned the computer on. The beeping started. Soon, Ron began to laugh. He reached over and moved the stack of books that Eileen had stacked by the keyboard. Suddenly everything was working just fine! The top notebook had somehow been moved over just enough to hit the escape key. We all had a good laugh at our confused computer!
How many times we have situations in our lives that perplex and confuse us even more than when dealing with computer problems. We do all within our power to make everything right, but we soon find ourselves helpless to remedy the situation. We don’t know what to do. We feel as if we were as the psalmist so aptly put it, at our “wit’s end.” Ps 107:27 How often we get ourselves into situations where we do not know which way to turn.
Praise God we have a Saviour Who can solve life’s problems. No problem is too big: no problem is too little. We can never inconvenience Him. With tears of compassion in His Voice He pleads, “Turn ye unto me, saith the LORD of hosts, and I will turn unto you.” Zech 1:3 If we come to Him and ask Him to make all things right, He will. It may not be as soon or as simple as when Ron fixed our computer problems, or even in the way we expect, but if we hold on in faith, our Dear Saviour will calm the storms of our life, and still the overwhelming waves that are crashing over us and bring us into our desired haven. (Ps 107:29, 30) He assures us, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” Isa 41:10
May we go to our Loving Saviour for help in time of need. May we bring to Him all our sorrows, all our perplexities, all our happiness, all our joys. May we, in turn, love Him with all of our heart, all of our soul, all of our mind, all of our strength for He is our Helper, our Redeemer, our Creator, our King. “Praise the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children of men!” Ps 107:8
Rose