Committed to Jesus - 1/16/11
(The story below happened to me 16 years ago when my children were in grade school.)
Commit your activities to the LORD and your plans will be achieved. Proverbs 16:3 (HCSB)
I quickly carried items from my car into the house. Earlier my husband and I met for lunch and shopped for antiques. Time slipped away and I barely arrived home in time to meet my daughter at the bus stop. Running to greet her, I encountered her at our halfway point. “How was your day?” I asked and we began our after school ritual while walking home.
As I fixed her a snack, I discovered the diamond was missing from my wedding ring. Panic dominated our routine. “When you finish your snack, start on your homework. Mom’s gotta look for her diamond,” I said. I slowly walked back towards the bus stop searching for anything that glittered. Nothing.
Back in the garage, I scoured the floor and my car. Again nothing. I called my husband and he left work, returning to the antique store. No diamond found. My heart sickened, but life had to go on. My son was now home from school, the dogs were barking, and a hungry family wanted supper. Our meal eaten and the dishes done, I told the kids to do homework in their rooms. I had to look for my diamond.
Sadly I went to bed feeling as though a huge part of my life vanished. Memories were attached to that stone. “God, help me find my diamond,” I loudly spoke as I drifted off to sleep.
As I awoke the next morning, that icky feeling returned. I have to find that diamond, I thought. While preparing breakfast, my eyes scanned every flat surface in my kitchen. All of a sudden the sun’s rays reflected from a tiny object that lay behind a bowl on my counter. It was my diamond. Praise God! My frets turned to cheers and my heart sang.
“Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? And when she has found it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found the piece which I lost!’ Likewise, I say to you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” Luke 15:8-10 (NKJV)
I’m sure you could share a story like mine and the woman in Jesus’ parable. Searching, looking, hunting - something we’ve all done at some point in our lives. Sometimes it turns into desperation as our quest continues without results. Do we continue seeking until we have our desired outcome or do we give up? The wise men never stopped their seeking until they achieved their goal, and they found the Messiah.
What is your hope for the future? Your plan for life? As mothers we yearn for peace in our families. As Christian women we are eager for all of our family to follow the Master. What’s our desire for ourselves? I pray it is to know our Savior better every day. He has a purpose for us and it is to bring His heavenly kingdom to earth. We can’t be part of God’s plan until we are familiar with His purpose. How do we do that?
We’ve got to search diligently and daily for God’s will in our lives. We need to prioritize our lives, giving our Creator and Redeemer daily time. He has daily manna (His Word) that we need to feed on. We have children that need our prayers, not our personal solutions. God has a plan for hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11-13) that He desires to fulfill in our children and us, but we have to seek for it and trust Him with it. Scripture tells us in 1 Peter 4:19 (HCSB) that those who suffer according to God's will should, in doing good, entrust themselves to a faithful Creator.
1 Peter 4:19 is cross-referenced in the Holman Christian Standard Bible with two other verses:
But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief, observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands. The helpless entrusts himself to You; You are a helper of the fatherless. Psalm 10:14
However, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1:9
Are you trusting in your Savior or yourself to overcome your problems? Jesus has overcome Satan and his minions; He is victorious. Now we just have to be committed to His plan of bringing that victory to earth. Will you remain devoted to Him as you await His outcome? Can you commit to Jesus until you receive His desired results?
Let your answer be YES as you seek Him diligently every day until you have His answer for your life and the lives of your children. There will be joy in heaven when you’re committed to your Lord Jesus Christ.