Angel

Gail and I just were sitting here watching a little Anderson Cooper when a commercial for the ASPCA comes on. The ASPCA is the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. The commercial starts with a soft piano and the sweet voice of Sarah McLachlan singing her song "Angel". As the song progresses, photos of abused and mangled animals are shown on screen with statistics of how many each day are mistreated. In no way was it an "in your face" commercial, but rather effective and moving. I'm sitting here with tears streaming down my cheeks and an ache in my heart, wondering what I would ever do if my little buddy Buster were hurt like that. As the commercial drew to a close, I looked at Gail with a lump in my throat, tears brimming, and thoughts running through as my head like, "I should have been a vet technician so I could help these animals!" and "I can't believe someone could be so cruel and heartless!" As the last note hung of the song hung in the air and the last picture faded, she looked at me with indifference and yelled, "AM I MADE OF STONE?!?"

Not a single tear. No remorse. The girl was unaffected. Maybe I should rethink my plans next time I leave for the weekend, placing Buster in her care.

Check the commercial out here. Let it be a test for you. Do you have a heart? Or are you like Gail?

Not To Us

I tried to find a good picture to fit the theme for this post, which is God's Blessings. I couldn't really find anything I liked, but I did stumble across this guy's picture. His last name is apparently Blessing. So I thought, why not? Anyway, moving on....

A lot of times when I feel the Lord prompting me to do something, I procrastinate. Especially if it is something I am not excited about, something that requires me to humble myself, something that asks me to put others before myself, something that says I must lay down my pride and simply trust him. All of this is typically very hard for me and it takes a while of knowing what I should do before I actually act. And once the decision has been made to be faithful to Him in His request of me, I make myself feel better by thinking that following His desires will a) make me feel better and b) fix everything.

That is not always the case.

What if the Lord requires something from me, something I don't want to do, simply because it brings Him glory? What if I won't feel better? What if it doesn't fix everything? What if the results actually make me feel a little worse than I did before I acted? If I knew all this before hand, would I still be faithful to His calling?

Probably not.

I think sometimes we have such a desire to be blessed that we assume that everything the Lord asks us to do will shower immediate grace and blessings. And sometimes, that is simply not the case. Sometimes, the very thing we are most afraid of happening is exactly what the Lord brings about after we follow his prompting. (Something Jonah experienced great frustration over.)

Does that mean He is any less God?

No.

Does that mean we are any less loved?

Not at all.

Does that mean his desires to bless us are failing?

Never in a million years.

However, knowing these answers, these truths, does it make any of this easier?

Unfortunately not.

BUT, dear friends, in the long run, is it worth it?

Absolutely.

I have loved Hebrews 12 for quite a while now, but something that's just stuck with me recently is how it talks about when we submit to the Lord's discipline, it allows our spirits to live. Going through these trials, these testers.... it is so that a "harvest of righteousness" can be fostered within us so that we continuously grow in His love, reflecting His glory.

And THAT, my friends, is a blessing worth holding onto. Even when I don't feel the blessing for being faithful in the moment, I can rest in God's promise that through my trust, through my obedience, through my steadfastness to His commands, my life, my future, my spirit has been blessed. Praise the Lord for His unfailing love!

:)