THE LONG-AWAITED GIFT

(A devotion, by Caryl Moll)

The little gift-box rested on the small coffee table in our sitting room. Its shimmery packaging winked at me in wonder and I moved closer to inspect the carefully scripted label: 

 “Don’t open until your birthday!”

I stood, transfixed – admiring its delicate paper and the large pink bow which encased it.  I must have stood there for ages – gingerly touching it and examining the careful way it had been wrapped. But was in it? Perfume?  A gift voucher?  A ticket to some far-away destination?  The intrigue was eating at me and its small size gave no indication of its value either.  But the intention was clear:  I was loved and this gift had been carefully prepared for me. 

As my birthday drew closer I was reminded that this package was so much like my own “gift-in-waiting” to God. Although I have been given an earthly body, it is up to me as to what I put inside. Will mine be snow white, or sadly tainted?  Will I be ready for the moment I meet my Lord?  Am I worthy of being called a Temple of the Holy Spirit? Or will I be offering my Lord an empty mask?

Our reckoning day draws closer. Our packaging will be removed and the gift behind our masks revealed.  What a joyful day it will be if our Master’s response is;

 “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”

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“But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him.  The Lord does not look at things man looks at.  Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.” 

(1 Samuel 16:7 NIV)

Reading:  Psalm 139

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HIS PERFECT PLAN BEHIND THE CHAOS

(A devotion)

I was a real Tomboy as a child and loved to explore the many footpaths that ran across our farm.  The African bush was my Eden – a place to escape when I needed to be closer to my Maker. Even then I felt God’s gentle presence in my life.

In a desperate bid to escape the growing tension in the farm-house one day, I ran off into the bush. With perspiration dripping down my young face, I hastened along the mountain path towards the water-reservoir near the waterfall.  I was ten-years-old at the time; young, impressionable and already searching for meaning. Who was I and what was my purpose on this planet?

It took me half an hour to reach my sanctuary – a precarious seat on the rim of the open reservoir. The valley around me echoed with life; cicada beetles, birds, and the breeze that whipped through the valley. I dropped to my haunches and dipped my feet into the icy water. Reflections of sunshine shimmered across the water.

My attention was soon drawn to the pond-skimmers – little beetles that created chaotic patterns on the waters’ surface. They buzzed around in seemingly mindless patterns; a web of incomprehensible motion.

This was the moment when I realised that God’s plan is absolutely perfect. Like the pond-skimmers, our lives appear chaotic.  We run around with mindless goals and futile aspirations. On our own, our lives are limited; imperfect. Yet behind it all, God is in control.  His beautiful universe is ordered and fits together perfectly. We only have to reach for His guiding-hand to be embraced into His Perfect Plan.

"For I know the plans I have for your," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

PRAYER FOCUS

"Dear Lord, teach me to rest in Your Perfect plan."

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May our dear Lord bless you today.

With love

Caryl