Seeking Sovereign Solutions
30/11/2017 17:07
Ten years ago, my wayward stomach decided to play fun and games at my expense. Foods it coped with before and even thrived on, turned into arch enemies. For decades, I’d drunk three cups of tea a day, but now, all at once, ingesting caffeine gave me a belly-ache. I was forced to cut back to just one cup of tea a day and had to sadly bid farewell to coffee for good. My mid-morning cuppa was one I now looked forward to eagerly, as one might yearn for a cold glass of lemonade on a warm summer’s day.
Recently however, my naughty tummy surprised me. Apparently, it could cope with a bit of extra caffeine once again. Hooray! So after 10 years of total abstinence, I was able to have a cup of coffee again, just once a week. How good was that! I created my new weekly caffeine routine.
Monday – my weekly cup of coffee. Yay!
Wednesdays and Fridays – (when catching up with friends) - 2 cups of tea each day
Sunday - Tea after breakfast, followed by a weak cup of tea after church
It worked well and life was tickety-boo. A few months ago, there were a few changes in our church kitchen. This meant that I now had to buy a cup of tea rather than make my own. No problem at all—after all, it only cost me one dollar. I started ordering a cup of tea after service. Unfortunately, the tea (made by others) contained too much caffeine (to my temperamental tummy) and I had to stop having it. Sigh! What could I do?
After some thought and prayer God whispered a solution to my listening ears. There just might be a different way of getting my Sunday caffeine kick! So the next Sunday, I tried it—a weak cup of tea as I woke up, after one glass of water (rather than my usual two), followed by my regular cuppa after breaky about 2 hours later.
A Perfect Solution!
My Quiet Time was better than usual with that caffeine rush inside of me. My worship times at church were also more exotic than before with the extra caffeine swirling within me, before the service rather than after. I didn’t even need to waste time getting myself a cuppa after church anymore and could concentrate instead on connecting with people. Wow! What a great solution, God!
Rarely is life filled with smooth pathways and sunny skies. Problems have a way of sneaking up on us uninvited. People can be demanding. Life can be hard. Solutions are not easy to find. God has blessed me with a Treasure Chest of riches—His Word. No matter what the problem, when I come to Him with an open heart, listening for His still small Voice, He drops sparkling jewels of rich promises and hope into my heart, and gives me a fresh understanding of which path to take. The answers don't often come as easy as my caffeine-solution did. They are usually found only after much prayer, hours of seeking and months (or sometimes years) of waiting on Him. But they do arrive at the perfect time. Always.
Today are you standing at cross roads? Are solutions as hard to find as the prospect of finding a purple kangaroo in your backyard? Don’t forget that the Creator of the Universe is for you. His wisdom is available 24/7 as are His listening ears.
So no need to polish up your act. No need to wonder if He will meet you at your point of need. Simply come to Him as you are with a heart open to His Voice. His Spirit and His Word are an unbeatable combination and supply us with wisdom, truth and the way to life.
“What, then, shall we say in response to these things?
If God is for us, who can be against us?
He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—
how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?”
Romans 8:31-32
