"Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you
sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And
whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord
Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Col 3:16-17 NIV)
We were aboard the ferry from St. John, New Brunswick,
heading
for Nova Scotia. We had decided to take the ferry to save time, but I was so
exhausted from getting up early enough to catch our boat that I fell asleep in a
seat in the lounge area of the ferry.
I woke up sometime later, and wiring myself with my
Ipod, I joined in the praise service in my heart. I stood up then and went for a
walk, when all of sudden, out of nowhere, a youngster pushed me out of the way
and ran passed. I hadn't seen him and it was inevitable: I fell flat on the
floor!
There went my pride!
I found myself with two choices: I could either enjoy
the view from the floor for a while, or I could stand up as if nothing had
happened, hoping that everyone in the lounge was not staring at me. Reprimanding
the young culprit was actually far from my mind, and it was just as well,
because he had long since disappeared!
I decided on the second option, and as I did, I
realized no one had even noticed my short flying expedition.
Except for an elderly lady that is: "Are you OK?" She
asked with concern.
"Just a bruised ego," I answered.
Interestingly, the whole ordeal didn't even faze me.
How differently I would have reacted in my younger
years! Even though I still consider myself the worst of sinners, I guess God has
been at work in me. I also believe that the power of praise helped me focus on
what does and doesn't matter in life, and this is when I remembered: "So whether
you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." (1 Cor
10:31 NIV)
Even falling flat on the floor can be done for the
glory of God!
Too often we miss out by not staying connected with
God. It really doesn't matter where we are, be it in prison or at work (Some
think there is no difference between the two), or perhaps on a tropical island.
Personally, I would prefer that one over the other two, but wherever we are we
can "do it all for the glory of God."
Miracles are often missed by our attitude. We are not
too prone to burst into song and shout for joy, especially amidst the worst
turmoil of our lives. If we did however, we might experience life quite
differently. We would expect the unexpected. We would anticipate what no one
else anticipates. We would prepare ourselves for a miracle.
"Sing, O barren woman, you who never bore a child;
burst into song, shout for joy, you who were never in labor; because more are
the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband," says the
Lord. Enlarge the place of your tent, stretch your tent curtains wide, do not
hold back; lengthen your cords, strengthen your stakes." (Isa 54:1-2 NIV)
Any bareness in our lives, may it be from lack of
children or lack of Spiritual fruit (See
Gal 5:22-23) can melt into fertility beyond
bounds. This is why we are encouraged to "enlarge the place of our tent", for
then we would expect
living
a life where everything we do is "for the glory of God".
It's true, the view from the floor can be very
tempting to most of us (Myself included!), but believe me, the view from the
mountain top is much more rewarding!
Rob Chaffart
The Illustrator: This daily newsletter is dedicated to encouraging
everyone to look towards Jesus as the source of all the solutions to our
problems. It contains a daily inspirational story, a Bible verse and encouraging
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The Nugget: Published three times a week, this newsletter features inspirational devotionals and mini-sermons dedicated to drawing mankind closer to each other and to Christ.