It is a beautiful morning out here on my porch. I am sitting in my rocking chair smoking McClelland 221b series Black Shag in a Savanelli Oom Paul. It is a pleasureable tobacco with no flavorings. Sweet, and cool burning. I can see why this would have been Sherlock Holmes' go to choice of tobacco. Simple, straight forward, easy to smoke, and no mystery.
As I sit here, smoke curling out my nostrils and a slight breeze carrying it away, I can hear a woodpecker drilling away in a tree. I see deer meandering through the wooded lot next to mine an then down the road in front of my house. I hear a neighbor having fun shooting his pistols and rifles at his private shooting range. The sun is out, and the weather has cooled down from the unbearable upper 90's to the low 80's. My dog Sunny, a 13 yr old lab, is laying down next to my rocker, just wanting to be in my presence. He follows me around no matter where I am at when I am home. Loyal no matter what. All in all, it is a great morning.
When I am not at work, I come out here first thing after making coffee, to have quiet time with God. I pull up my Bible app on my tablet, and read scripture and a small devotional. It seems like the reoccurring theme of my devotions has been Patience and Perseverance. If I had to choose two things that I struggle with the most, it would be those two. I was raised that it is rude to make people wait on you. So, I tend to really get irritated when I have to wait on someone. Also, I have always struggled with seeing a project through to its completion. I get bored with it, or hit a wall, and just tend to give up. Both of these are definitely NOT a Christian attitude. Thus, I feel like God is trying to teach me something during my quiet times.
Today's scripture comes from Genesis 13:14& 15. In this scripture, God gives Abraham a promise. He tells Abraham that whatever land he can see, will be his and his children's. Keep in mind that Abraham is childless at this time. This means, that AT A MINIMUM, Abraham has 9 months to wait before he has his first child. What did Abraham do? He believed God. And then HE WAITED. You know, God has made me (and every Christian) a promise. He says "Seek first the Kingdom of God and all His righteousness, and all these things will be given unto you." What things is God talking about? I beleive there are 2 types of things. 1) Those things we need. God is our provider. He will give us all our needs. That doesn't mean he is like welfare, but he gives us the things we need to live, to follow Him, to be a witness, and to succeed where we as humans fail. The second thing He gives is the desires of our heart. This is a sticky and often contoversial area. Some will say that God will give you anything your heart desires. However, they forget to apply a little common sense to the situation. God is not a vending machine. As we seek first His righteousness, our desires change to be in line with His will. If we are wanting something contrary to His Righteousness, then I feel confident in saying that He will not grant it. An extreme example would be if you are married and you have the desire for a mistress. God is not going to give you one. It is against His nature that we should cheat on our spouses. That is not to say that we couldn't disobey and get one for ourselves, just that he won't GIVE us that desire. However, I believe that if we are truly seeking as He wants, we won't have that desire.
However, I have gotten off track here. We need to wait on God's promise to be fulfilled as He has perfect timing. He sees everything that you need and want. He will provide WHEN THE TIME IS RIGHT.
Anyways, it is now time for me to get working on things here around the house. Have a wonderful day, and remember to wait on God. Have faith that He will do what He has promised.
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