Matthew 6:33
"But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given
to you as well."
NIV
With numerous dogs running about the place, I also
have numerous water bowls spread about and these numerous dogs, drinking from
their numerous bowls often leave numerous muddy footprints on the floor with all
their slurping and lapping. And all these muddy footprints can at times nearly
drive me to distraction. I fret and groan and believe it or not can even slide
into a regular temper tantrum as I mop and dry and mop and dry and mop and dry
only to have to mop and dry again.
One day however I was just too busy with other things
to get frantic over muddy footprints in the dog room and I learned something
very valuable. If I just left the muddy prints for awhile they dried up of their
own accord and turned into sand which was easily swept away. Dahhh, I said to
myself, all this fretting over something as silly as a bit of mud when all I
needed to do was leave it alone and it would basically take care of itself.
My oh my, and how often do we find ourselves fretting
and sweating and stewing over everything from something as small as muddy
footprints on the floor right on up to global warming, world recession and the
second coming of Christ. And yet as Jesus has said:
"Who of
you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?"
Matthew 6:27 NIV
Mmmmm, now that’s a truth worth thinking about isn’t
it? And perhaps this might be another truth as well, even though Jesus didn’t
say it: Maybe if we took more time to pay attention to following the footprints
of Jesus as they trail throughout the Scriptures dispersing their wisdom along
the way, we would discover that all our worries and concerns, like the muddy
footprints on my floor would simply fade away into a forgotten pile of old
memories.
Prayer: Father God, forgive us for our worrying,
fretting ways. Encourage our hearts and minds to follow the footprints of Jesus
and his wisdom that our trust will be wholly centered on you and not the muddy
footprints of this world. In Christ’s name we ask. Amen.
Lynne Phipps Atlin BC
lynnephipps@hotmail.com
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
messages. HTML and plain text versions available.
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.