God-given Fleas~

Greetings!

“What man is there among you, who if his son shall ask him for bread will offer him a stone?  Or if the son shall ask him for a fish will offer him a snake?  If you then, imperfect as you are, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in Heaven give good things to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:9-11)”

I remember one year how excited Jorge and I were to give our kids a Backyard Discovery Cedar Wooden Swing Set. It was by far the biggest gift we had ever given them, and Jorge even put artificial turf in the clubhouse so they wouldn’t scratch their little knees while playing up there.  We made such a big drama at the unveiling too.  We blindfolded them, and carefully led them out to the yard. They had no clue.  I videotaped their happy reaction, and I was thrilled that they were so thrilled. However, there is a great distinction between us and God.  While we – far far far from perfect – can still give and do good things, like spend loads of money to buy a swing set and then spend loads of time building it, our heavenly Father will always surpass us in His giving; it’s not even close!

Sometimes, however, it appears as though God has given us stones and snakes instead of fish and bread. It looks like we have received something bad instead of good.  It feels like a letdown and not a blessing.

Like fleas for instance…

Corrie Ten Boom is one of my faith heroes.  She was an amazing woman who helped many Jews during World War II.  Eventually, she was arrested and sent to Ravensbrück concentration camp.  You can read her amazing and life-changing story in her book The Hiding Place.  As you might imagine, she endured many difficult situations.  And just when she thought it could not get any worse, she and the others in her barracks came down with fleas.

Fleas in a concentration camp where there were no ointments, baths, remedies or relief.  God, really?  But Corrie was a woman of faith and did not allow the fleas to deter her faith.  She even thanked God for them.  What? Yes.  She thanked God for the fleas. 

The fleas were not stones and snakes in disguise.  They were the choicest of bread and fish – the best possible gift from God.  The fleas kept the abusive guards away and allowed Corrie to share the gospel and have prayer meetings in those barracks.  Many many women came to know Jesus because of those fleas.

God-given fleas turned out to be a blessing that spared Corrie and those women unspeakable horrors.  God-given fleas allowed salvation to come to others.  God-given fleas are responsible for a legacy that will last for all eternity.

The swing set?  Eventually the kids outgrew it, it started to fall apart, and into the trash it went.

PRAYER: Dear Lord, Sometimes we think that we have received the wrong “gift” when all along it was exactly what we needed to ultimately be blessed and bless others.  Help us to trust Your goodness over what our eyes see or what our minds think.  You are the best gift-giver, and we are grateful.  In Jesus’ name, AMEN~

No Such Thing as a Fair Fight~

Ok, I’ll admit it, I watch The Celebrity Apprentice.  I especially enjoy watching someone step up to the plate and say they will be Project Manager.  It’s a leadership role that is loaded with responsibility; more often than not, if the Project Manager’s team loses the task, he or she is the one who gets fired.  At the beginning of each episode, after the task is explained, Mr. Trump asks each team who will lead them.  Sometimes a person volunteers, and when that happens, everyone else on the team is relieved and Mr. Trump will say, “Ok. Get out of here!”

This is what happened in David’s case.  After he confidently states his credentials, King Saul had only one reasonable response: "All right, go ahead," he said. "And may the LORD be with you!" (1 Samuel 17:37).

And without further adieu, David “took his staff in his hand, chose five smooth stones from the stream, put them in the pouch of his shepherd’s bag, and with his sling in his hand, approached the Philistine.” (v.40)

It is kind of laughable that someone would go confront a man over nine feet tall with five stones and a slingshot, but 1 Corinthians 1:27 explains that “God chooses what the world considers weak to put what is strong to shame.”  

Goliath’s reaction shows he was insulted.  “He looked at David and saw that he was little more than a boy, glowing with health and handsome, and he despised him.  ‘Am I a dog, that you come at me with sticks? Come here and I’ll give your flesh to the birds and wild animals!” (vs 42-44).

Goliath was looking for an actual fight; he was not expecting this peach-fuzzed face to be much of a challenge.  The truth is both these men were champions in their own right, and to the naked eye, Goliath seemed to have the upper hand.  But there was one glaring enormous difference between them, and I am not talking about their size: “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.  This day the Lord will deliver you into my hands, and I’ll strike you down and cut off your head.  All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves; for the battle is the Lord’s, and He will give all of you into our hands.” (vs 45-47). 

When God is on our side, there is no such thing as a fair fight.  Nothing and no one can come even remotely close to out powering our Lord.  David against Goliath? Goliath wins.  David, as a humble servant who allows God to fight through him against Goliath? Goliath is going down!

PRAYER: Dear Lord, when we face the messes of life alone, we will lose.  But with You, the Lord Almighty on our side, with You fighting the battle, we have victory!  In Jesus’ name, AMEN!