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| Peace like a river |
Have you ever squandered a gift?
Maybe you have and don’t realize it.
Let’s think about it another way. Has anyone you known ever squandered a gift you gave to her?
Worst thing they could do, right? I mean, you spent time and energy picking out the perfect gift. Not to mention good, hard-earned money.
Personally, it’d make me angry. And sad. Annoyed that this person cared nothing for my efforts.
I read this in the devotional Jesus Calling last week, and it’s stuck with me ever since:
“My peace is the treasure of treasures: the pearl of great price. It is an exquisitely costly gift, both for the Giver and the receiver. I purchased this Peace for you with My blood. You receive this gift by trusting me in the midst of life’s storms.” (January 24)
Dang it. Guilty. As. Charged.
I’m the gift squanderer of gift squanderers.
‘Cuz I worry. A lot. And worrying means I’m not trusting God. And if I’m not trusting God, I am casting away the pearl of great price He gave to me. He died so I wouldn’t have to worry about my future. And yet I do that very thing on a regular basis.
That I would stop, and consider, and treasure His gift instead.
Your Turn: How do you stop yourself from squandering His gift?
*Photo courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
I read this quote last night that gave me the same sort of gut-punch reaction. I'm paraphrasing here, but it was from Francis Chan: "Both worry and stress reek of arrogance." GULP!!! (Note: I'm soooo not calling you arrogant for worrying!!) But seriously, though, when I read it I was like, dude, he's got such a point. Because worrying or stressing about anything indicates that I think I'm in control…or there's something I should be doing to change things…or especially that I don't think God is big enough to handle whatever I'm facing. It's just like you said–casting away the pearl of great price.
So, I think one of the ways I/we can stop doing that is by reading encouraging blog posts like this…taking it and quotes like Francis Chan's and verses about trust to heart. It's like you say often: Trusting that He's got this. We just have to day after day work on making it a habit to trust!
Awesome stuff today, Linz!!
Love when a writer is honest. Helps me feel not so alone in my own wanderings! I'm not so much a worrier as I am a wanderer. Maybe its the ADHD thing I was never officially diagnosed with. But I find I often choose to let my mind wander rather than take God's gift of focus and focusing on the good stuff. And each time I return to his good thoughts that he's always holding out for me to grasp, I want to kick myself for settling for sort-of good or disguised-as-good, if you know what I'm saying! Thanks for sharing, Lindsay! 🙂 -raj
So guilty, I"m a huge worrier! Thanks for the encouragement and great reminder that he's bigger.
Generally, I take a whop upside the head from Him! But in all seriousness, I've been guilty many times. How do I keep from squandering…spending intimate daily time. The more time I spend, the better I hear, the better I understand, the more I trust, the deeper my faith.
I've often thought of this when parenting my children. It's such an amazing blessing and privilege to be a parent, and yet I squander this time on being overwhelmed or frustrated or wishing time would speed up past certain stages (like potty-training!) – but then I remember what a precious gift I've been given and how one day I'll look back and wish I could reclaim this time. I try so hard to stop, watch, listen and be thankful for all my blessings – even as they terrorize my freshly cleaned house… 🙂
You don't strike me as a worrier, Lindsay. I love your transparency. I've been guilty of taking His gifts for granted, so I'm thankful for His endless, overflowing, boundless, AMAZING grace.