Workin' For It

I spent a few minutes reading today and came across several nuggets of wisdom. The first was when the author talked about his calling. He wrote, "And in retrospect, I'm grateful that it was as long and as hard as it was to discover my calling, because easy answers produce shallow convictions." This reminds me of a conversation I had with our son the other day. We were running errands together and he told me one of his friends just got a new, expensive car as a gift from their parents. I told him I was glad he got to pay for his, as well as recent repairs, because it made him appreciate it and value the work that went into getting it. The same is true of anything we work for. The value is so much deeper than things that are just handed to us in most cases.

Another nugget I discovered is this. "In a sense, sin is short-changing ourselves and short-changing God. It is settling for anything less than God's best. Faith is the exact opposite. Faith is renouncing lesser goods for something greater. And it always involves a calculated risk." This reminds me of my 13 year wait for my amazing husband. I had coined a phrase in my late teens or early 20's that anything worth having was worth waiting for. Funny how that simple phrase had a part in sustaining a pure singleness for all those years. I think of women who are desperate to find a husband for themselves and a father for their children. They settle for less than God's best, thinking they have to beat the clock, because waiting on God will take too long. But oh, the rewards for waiting on God! So worth it.

Another nugget was "If you were to always act in your greatest self-interest, you would always obey God. that is what I mean by a win/win relationship." Isn't that such a true statement? God is so faithful and so loving of His creation. He only wants what is ultimately best for us. Sure, we may have to go through a little fire, but there will always be blessings on the other side. We will be stronger and our character will be made more like His. We will always come out ahead if we obey.