Today’s scripture: Proverbs 6:6-11 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (Cheryl Stonestreet):
I recently heard a woman lamenting that she had turned 40 years old and still hadn’t done anything with her life. My thought was, get off your duff and do something then! (I can think things like that. I know how fast fifty creeps up on you.)
But I don’t have any room to talk. There are a lot of things that take a good kick in the hinder-regions before I will get started working on them. For instance: I hate doing the data entry for my business’ monthly reports. I need the information for my taxes, but do I take out the hour each month and do it? Nooooo. I wait until it gets close to tax time and then I scramble to do the quarter, or worse, the year. I tell myself, it’s alright I still got my taxes filed on time. But truly, living like this takes its toll.
What if I acted like this with everything in my life? What if I waited until the last possible moment to do each thing that needed doing? Imagine the stress it would cause! I’d always be in a hurry. Inevitably, I would forget an important costly detail. I don’t think that’s how God wants me to live.
Moreover, I believe God needs me to be ready for action. If I’m always in a hurry, I can’t take a moment to help someone who needs a hand. If I’m always in a hurry, I won’t have time to listen to someone in distress. If I’m always in a hurry, where do I find time to share my faith? And when would I find the time to simply Be Still?
Thought for the day: Did I do my chores today? If God needs my help, am I prepared to go into action?
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.