Day 6 - Finding the Missing Piece of the Puzzle
SCRIPTURE:
If they (the righteous) obey and serve Him (God), they will spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures. (Job 36:11)
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY:
With our children almost grown, Gary and I are beginning to experience, in a new way, the fruit of making the choice to follow God's ways. If I would have known in the earlier days that the decisions we were making to get serious about the Kingdom would have this kind of impact, I would have made a stronger commitment sooner! Real pleasure is a life of purpose, peace and provision, and knowing that your children love God and are pursuing Him. Our joy overflows!
It wasn't always like this. When we first committed to get out of debt, there were many things we needed to learn. Just about the time we would learn a new Kingdom principle that we would apply, we would encounter some other area displaying our lack of knowledge. It would discourage us and tempt us to contemplate whether the Kingdom really worked or not. I call this, "the missing pieces of the puzzle." You know the feeling when you dump a puzzle out of a box and 500 pieces stare at you, and you feel overwhelmed? Then you start reevaluating whether you even want to try to put it together or not! That's the way I was tempted to feel when we first began this journey of faith. I would hear the truths of God's Word-"God wants to bless and prosper you;" "If God be for you, who can be against you;" "Give and it shall be given unto you..."-yet when we would attempt to step out in these truths, we would meet with problems. I would become discouraged and think, 'God how come you didn't do this or that?"
One day in the farmhouse (my wilderness), I got mad at God and said, "If you don't fix this for me now, I am not going to serve you anymore." I regretted those words as soon as they left my mouth. At the time I had a two-year old, and I immediately got a picture in my mind of a small child throwing a temper-tantrum. We didn't allow our children to behave that way. Instead of getting what they wanted, we would discipline them-we wouldn't give in to that behavior. At that moment, I realized I was acting just like a two-year old! I immediately repented and broke down crying, asking God for His help, and confessing that apart from Him, I could do nothing.
I also recognized that God would have to continue to train me so I could receive the completion of my faith.
I began to see it like a puzzle or a mystery that the Holy Spirit was leading me to discover-a treasure hunt. I would learn principle upon principle and start to build the framework of the puzzle-the borders. The more I learned, the clearer the picture became. The clearer the picture became, the easier it was for me to persevere with the Word of God until I experienced the manifestation of the promise. Things began to accelerate as we discovered more pieces of the puzzle and began to fill in the overall design. But, those who want it fast and quit if they don't get everything in the beginning lack stability or a root system. They will get weary in well doing and faint in the process if they don't understand that it is a process. I believe you aren't like those who faint! I am still pressing toward the mark of the high calling in Christ, but I can see so clearly now the beautiful picture God continues to build in my life as I say, yes in obedience to His Word and promises.
ACTION: Journal the "pieces of the puzzle" you have learned and new ones you are beginning to grasp. Review these periodically. For me, some of the early ones were:
- God's love
- The power of the Holy Spirit
- Principles of faith
- Sowing and reaping a harvest
- Giving and receiving
- Learning to walk in love with my husband and family
- Avoiding strife and offenses
- Keeping my word.
These are just some of the pieces of the puzzle to a blessed life! Determine that you won't faint or quit this journey, but that you will keep the picture of the puzzle in front of you as you build a blessed life of days in prosperity and years in pleasures. Continue to meditate on these principles each day being a doer of the Word, not a hearer only.
Celebrating Freedom Together,
Pastor Drenda Keesee
