I am at home alone at the moment musing the wonder of my life. My man is out golfing. My oldest daughter out boating. My son football practicing. My youngest girl football team managing (in other words, giving water to those hot sweaty boys!). Me? I’ve been gleaning in the fields of God’s Book this morning and gathering manna from His Word. All in separate places and directions on this Labor Day holiday Monday weekday celebration.
What a wonder of a life I have.
All because of my Savior and what He does in it.
We've been so mightily and wonderfully blessed thus far in the 2010 year that we've been given. God has outshined Himself in our world in a myriad of places. He is so GOoD that it's hard to stand beneath His glory sometimes.
My oldest daughter has said to me more than once just lately that she thinks (and wonders why) our family is so favored.
I have to agree with her. I feel tremendously blessed! But I guess that that's simply how a child of God feels when they're trying to walk in their Father's shoes and He's allowing them to serve Him in His Kingdom. He's opening doors and tearing down walls and inviting us to labor in His fields. In places we'd never thought to before. To people we'd never have imagined.
I had a friend (that I've never yet met) write a post on Proverbs 12:11 which says, “The one who works his land will have plenty of food, but whoever chases fantasies lacks sense.”
The KJV words it this way: "He that tilleth his land shall be satisfied with bread: but he that followeth vain is void of understanding."
His point being that we often chase after our own "fantasies," rather than in pursuit in the "land" that God has appointed for us and called us to "work." We've all (those in my family) have been guilty of chasing such fantasies at one time or another. Vain things that is void of being able to fill! Toiling in "lands" that we weren't called to... but beckoned to, instead, by our enemy.
I'm a word-looker-upper... a definer... So, of course, I looked up (in the Hebrew) to see how the words in this verse was defined. Here goes:
"He that tilleth [works, labors over, tills, serves] his land [his territory, his specific plot of land, his piece of ground] shall be satisfied [satisified, satiated, filled, fulfilled, enriched, has in excess] with bread; but he that followeth [to follow, to be behind, to pursue, to run after, to chase, to aim eagerly to secure] vain [empty (vessels), worthless things, vain things] is void [in need of, lacking, in want of, destitute of] of understanding [mind, will, heart, soul, appetites, emotions, passions]."
We all (whether we realize it or not) are "tilling" the soil in some sort of land somewhere. The question is, where and what and who's soil are you tilling, laboring, serving, in? Your land (the land God has specifically and individually chosen for you) or somebody else's? The land God wants you in? Or the land of the enemy's? Fertile land? Or a vain one? A land that satiates and satisfies and fulfills? Or an empty one, one leaving you in need and in want, one leaving you lacking?
We often get caught up in the rat-race of chasing fantasties. There's nothing like it though when one realizes that chasing fantasties never truly satiates and satisfies. Our satisfaction and fulfillment comes from doing the “good work” that our Lord has “prepared in advance for us to do” (Eph 2:10). No doubt, God is calling us to something! He's "prepared" work for us somewhere! Our own "land" awaits us working it. And when we pursue and put Him first, He puts His desires in our hearts.. and then, causes us to desire to do what He wants done.
“When He [Jesus] saw the throngs, He was moved with pity and sympathy for them, because they were bewildered (harassed and distressed and dejected and helpless), like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is indeed plentiful, but the LABOR-ERS are few. So pray to the Lord of the harvest to force out and thrust LABOR-ERS into His harvest.”" Matt 9:36-38.
What (or WHO?!?) are you “labor”ing for? And what are you reaping from all of your labor?
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