Have you ever prayed to God for help with something and then weren't crazy about the solution when He gave it to you? C'mon....I know I'm not the only one. I've had trouble getting out of bed the last couple of weeks, so I've earnestly began praying to God for help in the mornings. I absolutely TREASURE having some time to myself in the quiet of the morning...and when I sleep in and miss it, I start off my day a tad bit cranky. (some in the family might say my crankiness is "more" than a tad) So...the Lord decided to answer my prayer for help this morning. Saturday morning. At 5 am no less. I quickly told Him that I didn't intend for Saturdays to be covered in my prayer. So I rolled over, snuggled deeper into the covers and closed my eyes. Only to find that my lab was jumping up and down to let me know he needed to go outside. Gggrrr. So I get up and let Cocoa out. I run back to the warmth of the bed before my eyes open too wide....or my mind becomes too alert. Aahhh...there's that warm spot. I snuggle back in. Now I hear Cocoa at the back door whining to come back inside. "He's fine" I tell myself. "He's got alot of fur". Then I remember it's 24 degrees outside, and I do love Cocoa. So I get back up and let him in. Now I'm awake. "Gee thanks Lord" is what is running through my head.
Since I'm not alert enough to really read anything yet, I do a couple of chores. I do get to see the beautiful sunrise...one of my favorite times of day. The coffee is great. "Okay, okay Lord. It's not so bad being up this early on a Saturday."
I sit down with my Bible, journal and a couple of devotional books. I began to read. "No....I don't really want that message, Lord. Gimme something else." I thumb through my books again. Nope. Nothing is hitting me like that verse. This can't be what I'm supposed to get this morning. I don't want this. Ever felt that way? The Lord leads you to read something, and the words just jump out at you. Sometimes we're excited....we know it's for us and it's encouraging. Sometimes we're offended. We know it's for us, and we don't want to hear it. This morning, I wasn't offended, but I didn't want that message. I needed something else. Something to make me feel good. This wasn't making me feel good. This was telling me what I should do. I don't want to be told what to do. I want to be made to feel good!
"Lord, we need to talk again. This isn't what I need. Let me thumb back a few pages. Nah, that's not it either. Let me thumb forward. " By now, my thumbs are getting tired. I've looked through the pages fast, I've looked through them slower. I keep coming back to these words.
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men." Colossians 3:23
The reason I didn't want to hear this is because we are going through an incredibly stressful and difficult time at work. On a scale of 1-10, we're at about a 15. The work load is huge, the obstacles seem great right now, deadlines are looming, staff doesn't always get along. I wanted a peppy, uplifting verse. I didn't want to hear that I should keep diligent at my work. And with all of my heart???? Are you kidding me Lord? At my job? With these people??? Have you met them?
He assured me that He has met them and loves them. He reminded me that I have this job, hard as it may be right now, at a time when many are losing theirs. He reminded me that this too, shall pass. This time of stress will work itself out and situations will improve.
And as He so often does, He reminded me that He is faithful. He heard my prayer for help and got me out of bed this Saturday morning (even though I didn't mean Saturday in my prayer). He reminded me that He gave me a solution to how I should handle my job right now (even though I desperately tried to help Him find another one....geez, my fingers are tired from flipping through those pages) I was able to see the sunrise, and know it's a new day. And I will do my best to make the most of it.
Thank you Lord.
