Grains of Sand

Google Images I think it was V. Raymond Edman who coined the phrase, “Never doubt in the dark what God has told you in the light.” As I read Psalm 13 this morning I could hear David echoing that message. He begins with a lament: “ How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? ” (13:1, 2, NIV). It’s a sentiment that many of us are familiar with. Sometimes we go through spiritual dry spells. We aren’t told what David was going through at this moment that made him feel as though God had turned His back on him. His thoughts plagued him, he was sad and felt defeated. Perhaps he was going through one of those states of depression that from time to time dog all our steps. Whatever it was, David felt that he was in danger of giving in to whatever was troubling his thoughts, to whoever was threatening his life. He writes: “ Look ...

“ Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty ’” —John 6:35. I live within spitting distance of two bakeries. I try to stay away, but I really like bread, especially when it comes in the form of a honey-dipped doughnut. Bread always satisfies—temporarily. Water is convenient. Here in Canada it is even more easily accessible than it was in Venezuela where drinkable water depended on the arrival of the water truck. Here, in this country, the tap is never far away. Water always satisfies—temporarily. When I look at Jesus’ statement in John 6 I know that spiritual satisfaction is not permanent either. Jesus is the bread and water of life. He always satisfies. But there is a condition tucked away in the Lord’s statement. Just as I have to keep going back for more doughnuts and keep turning the tap on to get water to meet my physical cravings, so I have to keep going back to Jesus to satisf...

With yesterday being a holiday I decided to take a long walk. The Weather Channel promised thunderstorms in the afternoon (which never materialized) so I set off in the morning. The old railway tracks along the southern side of the city have been torn up to make a walking path. My goal was to follow the tracks. As I was walking it occurred to me that it had been many years since I had visited the cemetery where my parents are buried. Since I was in the southern end of the city I took a right at the end of the walking path and headed in that direction. It's early in the season, which might explain my dismay when I got to the cemetery, found my parents' headstone and saw the condition of the grounds. Pretty sad. I know there are all kinds of prohibitions against chemicals for garden use, but a little "Weed & Feed" would have been a great idea in the cemetery. I think my life needs a little "Weed & Feed" too. As I read the Scriptures this morning fr...