The Things that Matter
02/12/2012 14:16
One morning last week, I dropped my son at the village bus stop. He was off on a jaunt to a place further south of the city, a fair distance away from home. Asela’s been learning to play the keyboard and was doing very well. But his chief desire was not to learn to read music. Instead, he wanted to learn to play by ear.
Many people told him that learning to play by ear was not something that’s taught but instead is an innate ability. Asela was not deterred. From a young age, he has reached towards goals he sought after with single minded perseverance. No matter any discouragements, he usually got to where he wanted, mainly because he just would not give up. In this instance too.
After a long and diligent search, he found a teacher who would teach him to play by ear. The night before, Asela and his Dad poured over the Journey planner on the Adelaide Metro website. They figured out bus time tables and routes. He was geared up, ready to go. So there we were, Asela and his Mum, on a very hot spring day, at 5 to 10 a.m., sitting at the bus stop, waiting for the bus that would take Asela to his destination. The shopping centre was a hive of activity. Shoppers were parking their cars and making their way inside the shops. The sun shone down warmly upon us.
I noticed that my son seemed a little nervous, so I offered to pray with him. He gladly accepted. I asked him what he wanted to pray about. We sat there and talked to God, sharing his concerns and mine. The bus turned up soon after and he climbed into the bus, his backpack on his back. I smiled at my smart, handsome boy and waved him off.
As I wended my way home, it occurred to me that a parent’s perspective about their son or daughter’s needs is possibly very different to their child’s viewpoint. Shan and I were concerned about his trip that day on many counts. Would Asela get over-carried on that bus? Would he cross the railway line OK? Would he faint in the heat because the temperatures were soaring that day? Would he have enough water to sustain him, seeing he planned to be out till late afternoon? Would he return home safely in one piece?
Asela’s anxiety wasn’t about any of those things. What worried him was simply the difficulty of communicating to his new music teacher what he desired to learn from her. That made me reflect. I wondered if my own concerns in life matched my heavenly Father’s concerns for me.
Here’s a list of some of my own concerns for the next little while.
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Will I get the Church Christmas Hampers all done and done well?
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Would I mess it up in some way, no matter how hard I worked?
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Would I manage to finish my latest book by its deadline?
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Will my health hold up till I am through?
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Will I be able to earn an income next year?
I wonder what God thinks of that list? My guess is that His concerns are very different to mine. Here is a possible record of what God is concerned about on my account.
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Is my daughter Anusha living a life of Obedience?
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Has she learnt to Trust me completely?
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Is she Loving towards her family, her friends, her acquaintances – towards everyone whom she encounters in life?
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Has she learnt to Let go and to Let the Holy Spirit handle her life?
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Is she walking in Integrity and Holiness, shining My Light into the world?
As a Christian, I have such an awesome privilege. Promises from His word that could make my life uncomplicated and full of joy. Psalm 37:4 says ‘Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Don’t we sometimes do it backward? We worry about the desires of our hearts. But forget the promises of God.
What that verse says to me is that I have only one thing to concentrate on. “Pleasing and enjoying God’. He will take care of the rest. What a magnificent promise! Sounds simple, doesn’t it?
Let me learn today not to get anxious and worried; not to fret or fume; not to be consumed by the one hundred and one concerns of my day. Instead, let me give my attention to delighting in my God. He will take care of my needs. I have His Word on that.
What joy to know that I have a heavenly Father who not only cares deeply about every aspect of my life. But that He is also more than capable of meeting my every need.
Let me delight in Him.
Let me bring pleasure to Him.
He will take care of me.