Lessons From a Cowboy
By Pastor
Timothy Burdick
Let’s look together
at Joel 2:25 to see exactly what it is
saying and to find out how it is relevant to
your life: "I will
repay you for the years the locusts have
eaten - The great locust and the young
locust, the other locusts and the locust
swarm, My great army that I sent among you.”
Notice, by the way,
how candid God is about what happens in our
lives. What does He say about the "locusts," the troubles that come? - "I sent (them) among you,"
God says. He takes responsibility, but
then we learn that He will fully restore
what is lost.
The way that God
repays those "years" to us is often by
giving us second chances. Recently I
encountered this lesson of restoration first
hand when I was faced with the prospect of
open heart surgery. The doctor said that I
had to have my aortic valve replaced or I
might die in two to five years. I, of
course, had the surgery and the defective
valve was replaced by the insertion of a
cow's heart valve. I became a cowboy.
A few days later in
my hospital bed, I cried because God had
given me a second chance at life. Like so
many, I had lost years not making the best
of what I saw as terrible situations in
life. Even now it is hard to write about,
but I know that now He was always calling me
to live a higher life. I have learned that
God wants the best for me, for you and for
us all.
Maybe God doesn’t
always work in dramatic ways, but our loving
God of grace always gives us second chances
to follow Him closer and respond to Him
more. I am still learning new lessons each
day, but I do know that closer obedience
will bring more joy into my life, and into
yours, too.
What are you going
through today? Does it seem unfair? Then ask
for grace to trust Him more. Are you going
through a painful ordeal? Seek Him and He
will give you strength to endure if you just
ask Him.
I know that this may
sound trite, but it's so much more. Please
trust Him and ask Him to help you hold on.
Try to look to Him more and not merely to
your circumstances, finding joy in the
secrets you and He share together. In this
way, both God and the second chances He
gives will become more and more real in your
life.
Visit Pastor Timothy at New Vision Ministries website www.mynvm.org
Visit Friday Study Ministries
www.FridayStudy.org
www.FirstChurchOnTheNet.org
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