PDL Chapter 5 Question
"What has happened to me recently that I now realize was a test from God? What are the greatest matters that God has entrusted to me?"
Jimminy Crickets! Now that I think about it, everything is a test! Chapter 5 uses the idea of a life metaphor -- is life a game, is it party, or is it .... I don't seem to have a life metaphor. Sure, I think of driving in traffic as an obstacle course and use similar metaphors for innumerable other activities, but I don't have an overarching concept that I apply to my life. But since reading this chapter I am beginning to think of this life as a test. "A very important test is how you act when you can't feel God's presence in your life" (p. 43).
I suppose it is like that "Footprints" poem:
When I don't feel the Lord in my life (thankfully that hasn't happened since accepting Christ as my savior) I plan on using the gifts of faith and patience that He has given me to wait out the loneliness. Before this happens I pray that I be given other gifts to productively end the absence.
And I pray that I have these resources when I finally find out what the Lord as entrusted to me as my task or other matters here on Earth. As mentioned in previous posts, I once felt that being a teacher would be my biggest concern. Now I have no such occupation-based thoughts. Praying about this is one of my most important goals, though I need to work on it with greater fervor.
The pull-quote on page 45 of this chapter resonated with me. "The more God gives you, the more responsible He expects you to be." This noble ideal is exactly how the Founding Fathers of the United States felt and is the basis for a whole school of thought dating back to the Roman consul Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. Even before allowing Christ into my life I had admired and adopted the legacy of Cincinnatus. Going forward it will be a powerful tool to guide me as I glorify God.
Jimminy Crickets! Now that I think about it, everything is a test! Chapter 5 uses the idea of a life metaphor -- is life a game, is it party, or is it .... I don't seem to have a life metaphor. Sure, I think of driving in traffic as an obstacle course and use similar metaphors for innumerable other activities, but I don't have an overarching concept that I apply to my life. But since reading this chapter I am beginning to think of this life as a test. "A very important test is how you act when you can't feel God's presence in your life" (p. 43).
I suppose it is like that "Footprints" poem:
One night a man had a dream. He dreamed
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
he was walking along the beach with the LORD.
Across the sky flashed scenes from his life.
For each scene he noticed two sets of
footprints in the sand: one belonging
to him, and the other to the LORD.
When the last scene of his life flashed before him,
he looked back at the footprints in the sand.
He noticed that many times along the path of
his life there was only one set of footprints.
He also noticed that it happened at the very
lowest and saddest times in his life.
This really bothered him and he
questioned the LORD about it:
"LORD, you said that once I decided to follow
you, you'd walk with me all the way.
But I have noticed that during the most
troublesome times in my life,
there is only one set of footprints.
I don't understand why when
I needed you most you would leave me."
The LORD replied:
"My son, my precious child,
I love you and I would never leave you.
During your times of trial and suffering,
when you see only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
When I don't feel the Lord in my life (thankfully that hasn't happened since accepting Christ as my savior) I plan on using the gifts of faith and patience that He has given me to wait out the loneliness. Before this happens I pray that I be given other gifts to productively end the absence.
And I pray that I have these resources when I finally find out what the Lord as entrusted to me as my task or other matters here on Earth. As mentioned in previous posts, I once felt that being a teacher would be my biggest concern. Now I have no such occupation-based thoughts. Praying about this is one of my most important goals, though I need to work on it with greater fervor.
The pull-quote on page 45 of this chapter resonated with me. "The more God gives you, the more responsible He expects you to be." This noble ideal is exactly how the Founding Fathers of the United States felt and is the basis for a whole school of thought dating back to the Roman consul Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus. Even before allowing Christ into my life I had admired and adopted the legacy of Cincinnatus. Going forward it will be a powerful tool to guide me as I glorify God.
posted by CC Hunt | 3:50 PM
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