Honk if You Trust Jesus
It had been a tough couple weeks. Various challenges had sapped my energy, and taken some of my joy, leaving weariness in its place. Our finished basement had flooded for a 2nd time since the neighbor had built her house; the massive financial investment of a commercial type sump pump we finally installed now promised it should never happen again – this thing could do everything except wash my dishes!…but the clean up had left me discouraged. “Why, God?” was an all too often complaint in my mind. His silence in providing me with an explanation made me pout a bit.
One of our precious daughters was facing a heart wrenching difficulty that was not of her own doing, and was no small matter and had no end in sight; who amongst us suffers well the agony of watching our beloved children suffer? I surely do not, and the heartache was taking it’s toll.
Various friends, needing encouragement seemed to line up at the door – I found myself handing out Bible verses like candy on Halloween ~ those committed to memory were texted, emailed and prayed. As the days stretched into weeks, I scoured the Scriptures for ones not as familiar, but none-the-less, assuring. Digging deeply in God’s Word and being in prayer became an almost constant state for me… I conversed with God endlessly, about this one and that one, this situation and that situation… We hadn’t yet seen the end of any of the stories, but we were working hard to keep trusting God with ALL of them, knowing He is Faithful and Loves us!
So it was that I found myself behind a truck the other day. The sign on the back informed me that this was no ordinary business: this, was a Goose Control Specialist. I know: most of you are saying, “yeah, so what?” But you must understand – I don’t think like most sensible people. I was like, “Wow…I wonder what an out-of-control goose looks like?” I started chuckling as I tried to picture it (it wasn’t too hard for me) – Was he the unruly one in the pond? Guilty of impolite water play? An indiscriminate leaver of unpleasant droppings? I imagined what the khaki clad worker might do to bring such situations under control… Perhaps squatting on a hollow log to confer with the said goose about his bad behavior? How might he restore order to the chaos? Hold trainings for appropriate good goose behavior? Offer rewards like a pass to swim at some swanky lake exclusive to other water fowl?
Well, God knew how tightly I must have been bound; clearly I was in need of a good cleansing laugh (tears had been the prevailing symptom as of late) and laugh I did. What started as a chuckle turned to guffaws fairly quickly as I roared at the thoughts coursing my brain, as I drove down the highway. Surely other drivers, seeing me alone and in such hilarity, must have begun flipping their radio dial searching for whatever it was that had me laughing so heartily! Ahhh, the joy of a good laugh! After a few minutes, I settled down; a few more chuckles escaped; clearly here was a ‘goose’ in need of some “control measures” herself 🙂
Oh, the Joy God wants us to have, dear fellow believers! Life has a way of handing us some unexpected, painful things; and God doesn’t want that to steal our Joy!
Truly as we walk through disappointment and sickness and sorrows, trials, temptations and tears – life can be overwhelming and daunting – but Praise the Lord! He’s erased All our Fears! We can Rejoice! He is GOOD! and His love endures Forever! We have an Unbelievable Future if we have placed our trust in Jesus for our Salvation! So why are we so quick to forget, and surrender our Joy? The writer of Hebrews reminds us in chapter 10: “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another – and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
I pray that while reading this, you might have found a renewed hope that our ever-loving God wants us to have a sweet freedom from the temptation to feel defeated – even through trials we may face… Nothing is Too Big for Him to handle – and He loves to hear us praising Him in the middle of the storm…
Do you have a story that would encourage others? Or, do you need someone to pray with you, through one of the heartaches you are facing? Let’s talk about it ~ you know – between friends!
