Skip to main content

Ready and Waiting

  

                When I was a kid camping with my family at Buffalo Pound Provincial Park, I always looked forward to going to the park store and buying Creamsicles.  You know, the orange popsicle sort of thing with ice cream in the middle.  I loved them!  Eventually, though, that fad passed, and I did not think about Creamsicles again.   

                About a month ago, my family was, once again, at Buffalo Pound and as we wandered into the store, I wondered, “Do they even make Creamsicles anymore?”   The answer: Yes, they do!  And they are as good as I remembered.

                Interestingly, though I have not bought a Creamsicle for more than forty years, someone somewhere continued making them and when I finally decided I wanted one again, it was ready and waiting for me.

                This incident made me think about how God is always providing what I need.  Even when I am completely unaware of it and do not understand, he cares for me and is working behind the scenes preparing for my future.

                And here is the best part.  2 Timothy 1:9 reminds us that, “(God) has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time”.  Underline the “not because of anything we have done” part.  Everything happens simply because God is gracious to us!    

                I need this reminder because I often act as if I am in charge of everything and that I have earned every good thing that I have.  However, I have been given much more than I deserve.  I have always been looked after.  I have received the answers that I needed at just the right time.  Even things that looked bad initially often turned out to be for my good.

                It is good to remember that we are not alone.  God is near.  He knows and loves us. 

                God is gracious and he provides.

                “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24-26).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dark and Light

            When you look out at the world, what do you see?             Some see nothing but trouble and pain.   They point to things like poverty, crime, problems with drugs and alcohol and marriage break-ups and say that the world is full of sadness and sorrow.   Watch the news for even a half hour and you will get the idea that the world is a dark place.             Others see nothing but good.   They appreciate generous people in their community.   They think about their friends and neighbours and smile.   They marvel at the beauty of sunrises and stars at night.   To them, the world is a bright and wonderful place.             You may be surprised that the Bible supports both of these world views.   On one hand it says things like, “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the
1 comment
Read more

New Article: Five Words to Improve Your Relationships

                 In the late 1800s, it was common for railway companies to plant formal gardens beside their stations.   These gardens were filled with trees, shrubs, flowers, and fruit trees.   Sometimes they also featured a kitchen garden growing lettuce, carrots, corn, and potatoes.   Estevan’s Canadian Pacific Railway Garden was once located where Mid-City Plumbing and Heating is today.                The purpose of these gardens was to show what the land could produce.   After hours and sometimes days of riding across the featureless prairies, the railways wanted to show settlers the potential of their new home.   The gardens showed what was possible and they encouraged the settlers to transform their own land and discover its potential too.                Today’s verse acts similarly, in that it challenges us to find the potential in
Post a Comment
Read more

Forgetting What Is Behind

                   Generalizations are helpful because they show a pattern that is normally true. However, they are also dangerous because they ignore the exceptions to the rule.                  Here is my generalization:   It is a quality of the strong to be able to forget the past and move on.   The apostle Paul summarizes this idea when he states, “One thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God had called me heavenward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Too often, we trip over things that are behind us.   We remember and nurse old hurts.   We rehearse mistakes that no one else recalls.   In doing so, we pull the past into the present and allow it to dictate how we feel right now.   In these cases, we would be better off “forgett
Post a Comment
Read more