Thursday, May 10, 2007

Peace for Anxious Days by Max Lucado

Have you ever had a day or a week where you weren't sure where you should be or what you should be doing? I've had that today and part of last week at my work. I've wondered for the past week how I could change things in my life to get out of a place I don't want to be in right now but then I'm reminded by a simple email that I don't have to worry about changing things because God will take care of me and any situation I'm facing. Here is what was in my email box from Max Lucado just when I needed to hear it.

Peace for Anxious Days
by Max Lucado

When my daughters were single-digit ages—two, five, and seven—I wowed them with a miracle. I told them the story of Moses and the manna and invited them to follow me on a wilderness trek through the house.

“Who knows,” I suggested, “manna may fall from the sky again.”

We dressed in sheets and sandals and did our best Bedouin hike through the bedrooms. The girls, on my instruction, complained to me, Moses, of hunger and demanded I take them back to Egypt, or at least to the kitchen. When we entered the den, I urged them to play up their parts: groan, moan, and beg for food.

“Look up,” I urged. “Manna might fall any minute.”

Two-year-old Sara obliged with no questions, but Jenna and Andrea had their doubts. How can manna fall from a ceiling?

Just like the Hebrews. “How can God feed us in the wilderness?”

Just like you? You look at tomorrow’s demands, next week’s bills, next month’s silent calendar. Your future looks as barren as the Sinai Desert. “How can I face my future?” God tells you what I told my daughters: “Look up.”

When my daughters did, manna fell! Well, not manna, but vanilla wafers dropped from the ceiling and landed on the carpet. Sara squealed with delight and started munching. Jenna and Andrea were old enough to request an explanation.

My answer was simple. I knew the itinerary. I knew we would enter this room. Vanilla wafers fit safely on the topside of the ceiling-fan blades. I had placed them there in advance. When they groaned and moaned, I turned on the switch.

God’s answer to the Hebrews was similar. Did he know their itinerary? Did he know they would grow hungry? Yes and yes. And at the right time, he tilted the manna basket toward earth.

And what about you? God knows what you need and where you’ll be. Any chance he has some vanilla wafers on tomorrow’s ceiling fans? Trust him. “Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes” (Matthew 6:33-34).

From Every Day Deserves a Chance
Copyright (Thomas Nelson, Inc., 2007) Max Lucado


That last paragragh was what I needed to hear. God will help me deal with whatever comes along. I don't have to worry or be afraid. If you liked this inspirational message from Max check out his website. You can sign up to get his "Every Day" emails every weekday from May 14-June 8, for free.

Here is a piece of art work that I did several months ago that sums up my feelings at this moment! All Glory be to Him!

2 comments:

Maggie Ann said...

Hi Ann, that is a good devotional & lesson! and, yes, that is me in the picture by the falls..still partially anon I hope...grin. I'm so busy here. Our daughter is coming home Monday for 3 days and I'm washing windows and doing all the extra cleaning...like the linen closet I usually ignore. And, I have a lot of extra music practise which will be over next week for a while. So gotta run, but it was nice to hear from you...=) Hope your week smooths out.

Anonymous said...

The Father knew I needed to read that today. He is bigger than my anxiety and my current crisis! Praise Him!

Thanks for posting this.