Shortly after moving to Sarasota I had a dream in which I had a black, Grand piano and God told me to get rid of it. I tried to reason with Him by asking if I could at least take the legs off and set it on it's side in a storage place since it seemed so valuable. He said, No, He was giving me a white, grand piano. I didn't understand the meaning of the dream right away until I was sharing it with a friend and then it came to me, "a new vision." Naturally, at the time I felt sure the dream (or vision) was for me.However, as time went by I came to believe it was for my son, Chad...and this was not the first time I've had very 'strong' visions which I thought were meant for me, yet turned out were really meant for him. Ironically, a 'white,' grand piano is what Chad learned to play beginning when he was only 5 or 6 years old and he later taught himself to play the guitar before entering ministry and ultimately led worship in a large church. (By the way, he's only 31 now).
The reason I'm sharing this is that today's devotional said, "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid." Ps. 118:6 NIV. This reminded me that before I had the nerve to move from Lexington to Altamonte Springs...with Chad...the Lord used a familiar scripture about the Talents in an unfamiliar version (The Message) to inoculate me against fear: " The servant given one thousand said, 'Master, I know you have high standards and hate careless ways, that you demand the best and make no allowances for error. I was afraid I might disappoint you, so I found a good hiding place and secured your money. Here it is, safe and sound down to the last cent.' 'The master was furious. 'That's a terrible way to live! It's criminal to live cautiously like that! If you knew I was after the best, why did you do less than the least? The least you could have done would have been to invest the sum with the bankers, where at least I would have gotten a little interest. 'Take the thousand and give it to the one who risked the most. And get rid of this 'play-it-safe' who won't go out on a limb. Throw him out into utter darkness."
Today's devotional by Bob Gass goes on to say: Courage is more than a feeling...Check the record; anybody, who ever beat the odds, did it in spite of their fear! They did it because (1) they were desperate and felt like they had no choice; (2) they were inspired by somebody else's example; (3) they were angry at injustice; (4) they were moved by a need; (5) they said to themselves, "If not me, who? If not now, when?; (6) they didn't think much about it at all, or they might have changed their mind.
He also says, anytime you go where you've never been or try something you've never done before, fear will be present. It'll always stand between you and anything worth doing. But the good news is, each time you conquer it, you feel a surge of self-respect and gain a level of confidence you never had before. Whatever you're facing today, listen to these words: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or discouraged because of [the size of the enemy], for there is a greater power with us than with him" (2 Ch. 32:7 para). And one more, "The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Ps. 118:6)"--Bob Gass
Now, to tie this together...my son Chad has recently taken a bold step by changing from selling real estate to selling coffee! That's right!!! There's a very good reason and it's not quite as simplistic as it sounds in this simple paragraph, but all in all, let's just assume that the step he's taking is in obedience to the Lord and yet it does require courage! My point is made!
I also recalled (I was pretty sure) that Isaac, Abraham's son sowed in a year of ?drought? (famine) and reaped 100 fold (Genesis 26). However, it goes on to say that he lived there a long time...then "Isaac planted seed in that land, and that year he gathered a great harvest. The Lord blessed him very much, and he became rich. He gathered more wealth until he became a very rich man." Either way, sooner or later, things turned out pretty well for him wouldn't you agree?
Check out Chad's new venture: www.Storyville.com
PS--If anyone happens to know Oprah...it sure would be nice if she'd try this coffee and add it to her 'favorite things.'
No comments:
Post a Comment