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Even the birds eat or put the spoon to my mouth
by Kathleen Angell I was thinking this morning of why a person would not want to work. I have had misconceptions and plenty of them in my past. That it is better to receive than it is to work, a true misconception. That it is more spiritual to do spiritual things than it is to work. All of these things are misconceptions from my past. Even Paul, who's walk so surpassed anything I have been obedient to, or Peter, worked when it was needed, and Stephen, who's face was like an angel as he beheld his Lord in his being stoned to death, worked in the lowliness, it would seem, of waiting on and seeing to the widows tables. And yet, obviously it was not lowly, because they chose someone full of the Holy Spirit to do that work. Years ago, and I am thankful, by God's mercy and grace, to have come through this trial, but I am still battling daily as I see it put under Jesus feet, the tendency to be lazy in spiritual matters, like reading, praying and praise. On my own. In my own quiet time. But years ago, it was a most terrible time, after going through a terrible trial, that left me in horrible dispair. I certainly deserved the trial, I was not suffering for my good works, but because I had walked astray. The grace was completely undeserved grace. My Lord Who came in compassion and mercy, - all was undeserved grace. Freely given to me from a Compassionate and kind God and Lord. I lay on my bed, depressed, after these things in this trial, hardly able to talk for dispair. Having been in bondage to lust my whole life, and even now as a Christian, I had fallen into sin, and the shame that brings, and after this horribleness, and repentance given by God's grace alone, and the sweetest compassion of a dear Savior and deliverance that only He can bring, intercession that only He cares enough to bring- I heard the counsel the Lord brought to me and spoken to me. Even the birds eat. That was what was needed to get out of this place of dispair from what I'd gone through. Whoa. I am always slow to understand. But what this meant and seems so simple now is that even the birds, even God's birds that He feeds, pick up the food from the ground and put it into their mouths. Even the little creatures have enough sense to eat the food God has given them. God provides and promises to provide. But even the little birds have enough sense to pick up the food provided and put it into their mouth and eat it. I was dumber than the birds. I had the food the Lord had provided in many ways. The Bible to read, praise to God, prayer to talk to Him. And I laid there and would not eat. Even the birds of the air have more sense than I did. At that time what this meant was, that God had provided food for me but I was so dispaired and even lazy, and dumb, frankly, that I was not picking up the Bible and reading it so God could bring it to life in me. I wouldn't do the simplest things. I wasn't praying, just moaning. I wanted to be spoon fed, have it over quickly, and have deliverance from my feelings, and put no effort into it. I'd rather lay there. And do no work at all. Well, the truth is I was ignorant, but after that was spoken I'm no longer ignorant. If I go through trials because I lack eating the food that God has provided I have no one to blame but myself. Because God has provided. I'm being a bit hard on myself this morning in this, but I need to be reminded of it firmly. I have a tendency toward slothfulness and being lazy. A lazy person can hardly put the spoon to their mouth. And when I see this Scripture I know it is the same meaning as even the birds eat. But the Lord bought me with a precious price and what ever thing is my bondage, the Lord is subjecting it to Himself and under His feet. He brings all things into subjection to Himself. This principal is present in so many ways. We want to see the end of the matter given to us, easily,with ease, thinking there this is blessing. Not realizing that we may have to put some effort into it, like the birds, to receive. There may be some work on our parts, there is some for the birds to eat. But God has given to us freely of many missed provisions, and when we step out, He brings the increase. My name is Kathleen Angell. My life was dramatically changed when the Lord made Himself real to me. We have an outreach to folks experiencing shelter and street life. It is a great joy to us. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |