Whatever is crossing the sidewalk in the dark?
Coming home the other day in a literal downpour, I thought a stick had blown up on the sidewalk. As I unloaded my bags into the house I noticed the "stick" had moved. Hmmm. Slowly, the orange salamander crept across the sidewalk making it's way into the bushes. I can't say that I like creepy crawly slimy things that crawl across our sidewalk. But you never know what the rain will bring.
Yes, you never know what the downpour will bring into your life. It takes a lot of water coming down to bring the salamanders to your sidewalk. I was thinking on this especially because it was such a wet day. When the waters of adversity rise in our lives, "creepy things" in us come out for display. Monsters like fear. Or dread. Or anger. Or ..... Those are just some of the monsters that come out of my heart and they aren't very pretty either. The Lord has His ways of refining and polishing us and one of those ways is adversity or trial. I so want to trust Jesus for His work in me and in others, but the real truth of my trust comes out when I am pressed.
So, instead of gazing at the circumstances, I am choosing to gaze at Jesus to know Him deeper and fuller. He says He is full of that marvelous faithful lovingkindness toward me; He says He is in control of my life; He says He works all things together for my good; He says He is on my side; He says He will never leave me; He says He is full of mercy; He says I have complete access to His throne; He says He will comfort me; He says His Word is my life; He says He is good and brings me good; He says He is my rest and security and refuge; He says He is gracious; He says if my foot slips He will hold me up; He says I can camp underneath His wing. And the list goes on and on. When I speak these truths to my soul, something happens within. Joy floods my soul even though the outward circumstances haven't changed and even though they become even more difficult. Because this life is not about me, it is about bringing glory to Jesus Christ. He receives glory when I gaze at Him. My soul longs and desires to bring Him glory, even when life gets tough.
When the monsters come out I just go back to thinking on Jesus. And He is near. He doesn't allow monsters in His camp. He chases them away. What a Savior! K.C.
