Gifted and Talented

Welcome to unseen. I hope it has been a good week. Those of us who live Unseen have a difficult time receiving from other people and from God.  I think this is especially true of those of us who are caretakers.  Read on for insights in accepting God's love and blessings.

Gifted and Talented

And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land Jer. 32:40-41

 

                It was Teresa’s birthday. Her parents went all out. They invited friends and family over. Because it was West Texas, they had a barbecue. They had cake and they had presents.  They had games and they had music. Everyone had a great time. That is, everyone had a great time except Teresa. She was sitting at the table with her head down and tears in her eyes. Her mother went over to ask what in the world was wrong. Was she not happy with the party? Teresa answered that it was a wonderful party, but that she didn’t deserve it.  When her mother asked her what she meant, she said that she did not  make her bed 2 days last week and she was last to school one day the week before and on top of that she had mean thoughts about her brother when he pulled her hair. She knew she was not supposed to do these things and that was why she knew she didn’t deserve the party. Her mother hugged her and explained to her that they did not throw her a party because she was a good girl. They threw her a party because she was their daughter and they loved her.  Then Teresa dried her tears and enjoyed the party for the gift of love that it was.

                Teresa was smart enough to do that. Are we?  God has offered us not only salvation but an abundant life. If we were wise we would be like Teresa and bask in that, doing good because we have received it no so we can earn it. We may refuse the gift of salvation because we don’t deserve it. We may bargain with God to bless us. “If you help me get this job I will read my Bible for an hour every day.”

We may also feel that we deserve the bad things that happen to us.  Abuse victims feel ashamed because they feel they did something to cause the abuse.  A miscarriage might be seen as punishment for not wanting a child at first. If we receive the blessings we might go into a frenzy trying to earn them by keeping the rules and doing enough good. I have been introduced to grace for thirty years and acquainted with it for twenty, and when I get under stress I can go back to this old mindset in a heartbeat if I don’t guard my mind. The reality is that God blesses us because he loves us.  He has even given us talents that we can use for him. We use them because he loves us, though, not so that he will. Do you think Teresa cleaned her room faithfully and helped her parents without complaining after that party? She did it out of love and not guilt or bargaining.

As incredible as it seems, the God of the universe adores you. Look again at the verses in Jeremiah.

 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good for them. I will put a desire in their hearts to worship me, and they will never leave me. I will find joy doing good for them and will faithfully and wholeheartedly replant them in this land.

 Zephaniah 3:17 says,  The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. It might be easy to think he gives us salvation and then says that is good enough. In Rom 8:32 he says He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?

 I am by no means saying we should not use our gifts and talents for God.  There is no time that I am happier than when I am singing for God or writing. I have to keep in mind that it is in response to God’s love and not as a way to earn it. We are all unique and this may not be your struggle, but I bet it is for someone you love.  Please join God’s love feast for you and encourage others to do the same.

WAIT FOR IT...

Welcome to Unseen today. Waiting is hard and it may be especially hard for people who live Unseen. Read on for a lesson I learned from my four legged teacher.

Wait For It

They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Is 40:31

 

            Well, my little fur ball of a dog did it again. He taught me another lesson. I was cooking supper the other night and he was watching me intently. I knew he would like the hamburger meat so I had set a little aside for him. (Yes, I give my dog people food sometimes.) He looked up at me and wagged his tail. I said, “Wait just a minute. It’s hot.”  He kept watching me hoping I might either hurry up or drop something. He turned on what I call the “puppy eyes”. He fixes his huge brown eyes on you and droops his ears and his head. It is supposed to make you feel sorry for him and it usually does. The meat was still hot, though, so I couldn’t give it to him.  Then he got tired of waiting and went rooting around in the trash. He dug out dried bread crusts and a tiny bit of rind from a ham. He did enjoy the hamburger meat with gusto but he had to wait until it was done.

            It would be easy to say, “What a silly dog. Couldn’t even wait a few minutes for something good.” You’d be right, too. How good are we at waiting, though?  Let’s say you have asked God for something and you haven’t gotten it yet. For a while we wait pretty well, wagging our spiritual tails. Then we start to get impatient, and give God the spiritual equivalent of puppy eyes. We might remind him of how faithful we have been and the things we have given up for him. Maybe if we convince him that we are deserving he will hurry. We might get mad at him for taking so long.   Finally, we get tired of waiting and go rooting around in life’s trash. Let’s look at Abraham. God promised him a son. For a while he waited expectantly, and then not so much. Don’t you think he reminded God of his promise? Then he decided to look in life’s trashcan. “I guess God meant Eliezer my servant would be my heir. I know. I’ll have a son with Sarah’s hand maiden. Maybe that’s what God meant.” All the time God was preparing things for Isaac, and in a way that there would be no question he was the one who had done it.

            I am not going to pretend it is easy. A few weeks ago we bought a car. I was so excited because I had waited so long.  Two weeks later after a funeral, I told a friend to come look at my new car.  He said, “Oh, that’s nice.” I said, “Listen to how good it sounds.” And turned the key. At this point it made terrible clunking and grinding noises and died.  The engine had jumped time and it was one of the cars where that is a terrible occurrence and blows the engine. After several more delays the dealer replaced it with one that is more what I needed in the first place.  Because God knew how life is he left us instructions on waiting on Him. The one we are most familiar with is Isaiah 40:31. They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. Psalms 37:7 says, Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Boy is that hard to do.  Jeremiah 14:22 reminds us of a time when the people were waiting for rain. He says , Are there any among the false gods of the nations that can bring rain? Or can the heavens give showers? Are you not he, O LORD our God? We set our hope on you, for you do all these things.

            God knows what we need. He knows how to give it. Trust in the Lord with all of your hearts and lean not on your own understanding. Prov 3:5