It Came Upon A Midnight Clear . . .
Not the Christmas carol, but an answer. An answer to my prayers.
2005 was a tumultuous year filled with toils and snares that I had never encountered. There were several times that I felt like giving up, but I could not. If God has ever carried anyone for an extended period of time, He carried me throughout the year.
But the troubles that I had to face were not without obvious answers, and I knew the answer. My grandmother's favorite biblical story after Jesus was King Solomon and his response to God offering him anything that he wanted. For those who don't know, Solomon bypassed asking for riches and women, he asked for wisdom. Now without getting into a semantic debate about his choice, one can not deny how profound a choice he made. He wanted to know how to fish instead of fish falling from heaven at a moment's notice. I have prayed since I was a youth for wisdom because my grandmother always talked about that story.
Well God answered my prayer, and I feel wise beyond my years. But if you knew me personally, you would say, "Wise, but what about this decision and that decision?" I have made many decisions in my life that were not wise, and I knew before I made them that I chose the unwise path. So if I have the wisdom of Solomon, why did I make some choices that I did.
I'll tell you why. I had the wisdom, but lacked the strength and the courage to repeatedly do what is right.
Let's face it. Doing what is right is usually going against the grain, and that can be tiring. In my fight against the grain, I had the stamina of a 90 year old man without viagra! You know, perhaps one shot twice a year, and hopefully no heart attacks. I was too busy trying to be nice instead of trying to be real.
Well, my prayer for this year is to have the strength and the courage to do what is right. I mean, why live without God ordering my steps. This may not be your belief or a part of your belief system, but knowing what is right and actually doing it is an actual dichotomy. I plan to merge the two.
2005 was a tumultuous year filled with toils and snares that I had never encountered. There were several times that I felt like giving up, but I could not. If God has ever carried anyone for an extended period of time, He carried me throughout the year.
But the troubles that I had to face were not without obvious answers, and I knew the answer. My grandmother's favorite biblical story after Jesus was King Solomon and his response to God offering him anything that he wanted. For those who don't know, Solomon bypassed asking for riches and women, he asked for wisdom. Now without getting into a semantic debate about his choice, one can not deny how profound a choice he made. He wanted to know how to fish instead of fish falling from heaven at a moment's notice. I have prayed since I was a youth for wisdom because my grandmother always talked about that story.
Well God answered my prayer, and I feel wise beyond my years. But if you knew me personally, you would say, "Wise, but what about this decision and that decision?" I have made many decisions in my life that were not wise, and I knew before I made them that I chose the unwise path. So if I have the wisdom of Solomon, why did I make some choices that I did.
I'll tell you why. I had the wisdom, but lacked the strength and the courage to repeatedly do what is right.
Let's face it. Doing what is right is usually going against the grain, and that can be tiring. In my fight against the grain, I had the stamina of a 90 year old man without viagra! You know, perhaps one shot twice a year, and hopefully no heart attacks. I was too busy trying to be nice instead of trying to be real.
Well, my prayer for this year is to have the strength and the courage to do what is right. I mean, why live without God ordering my steps. This may not be your belief or a part of your belief system, but knowing what is right and actually doing it is an actual dichotomy. I plan to merge the two.
posted by Datbury at
1:53 PM
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