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Thoughts for a Woman's Heart |
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encouragement in things that matter |
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God Never Says ...
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My college-bound son was in the heart of the Navajo Reservation, roping and tying bulls, clearing away rocks for a roadway, and sharing his love of guitar music as he and others played and sang of the God many of the Navajos are coming to love. College classes though need to be registered for by phone, something common that would not be available to my son while he was away. So, I volunteered for phone duty to call at the hour designated by the college. With the listing of his classes, a page of instructions, and a credit card to pay the bill spread out in front of me, I made the phone call, and by touch tone, answered the preliminary questions I was asked. My carefully executed plan suddenly halted when the voice on the other end abruptly stated, "You have called before your appointed time." Attempting to discern the clearly spoken words, I was dumbfounded as silence echoed from the receiver I held in my hand. Not even the click of a hang-up. Just silence.
Later that afternoon, I was re-thinking what had happened. It had sounded so authoritative, so final, almost like something God would say, except that, God would never say it. I thought too of other things God would never say, especially to His kids. The one God-doesn’t-ever-say-it-to-His-kids that stuck with me was, "God never calls me ‘stupid.’" David committed sins that we would consider atrocious, and although God confronted him with his sin, He never called him "stupid." When the God-man knew the overly confident Peter would deny Him, He did not call him "stupid." Water-soaked, wind-beaten disciples had a faith that seemed to shrivel, but the calm and commanding Presence at the back of the boat, did not call them "stupid." Three years of being eyewitnesses of Jesus’ teaching and ministry and the seeming tragedy of the cross, and the disciples still did not understand. Even then, Jesus did not demean them with the word "stupid," but He taught them again the truth of Scripture. David was called "a man after God’s own heart." Jesus prayed for the one who would deny Him, and the storm-threatened disciples found the quiet they anxiously pleaded for.
If we are ever dumbfounded by the words that God speaks to His kids, if we are ever halted in the busyness of our lives by the words He speaks to us, it will be because He has spoken from a heart of love and we simply cannot imagine why He would possibly love us in such a way. Yes, because He loves us, He may confront our sin or challenge our doubts, but His words of love still belong to His child. Beloved. Daughter. Child. Friend. Chosen. Treasured. Forgiven. And His actions speak still louder than His words.
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— Bev |
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