[Faith-talk] Good Night Message for Thursday, October 25 2012

[Paul]

Well folks, it's that time again, time for your good night message.  Now I know that as this is being written and sent, it's already Friday morning for most of the world, but here in North America it's still evening.  How was your day today? Mine was good in the courthouse, by God's matchless grace and His providential care.  Didn't have to serve on a jury, thank God.  I say that last because if I were on a jury and we unanimously pronounced someone guilty and it was learned later that we had made guilty the wrong person, my conscience would bother me for a long time.  I hope that some, if not all, of you know where I'm coming from here.

An Irish lassie named Ruth O'Neil wrote our article for this evening, entitled "Faith In Focus," rendered as follows:

Kyle was a young man with a loving wife and beautiful children.  He had his health and a job that more than paid the bills.  Yet Kyle was a very discontented man.  After talking to his wife, he came to the conclusion that he was discontented because he was not in the will of God.  He was not living in sin, but his ministry was not what it should have been.

Kyle always had dreams about what he wanted to do for the cause of Christ, but he never put any effort into making those dreams a reality.  He then made a promise to God that he would not neglect the gifts and desires that God had given him.

This worked but only for a little while.  Soon Kyle fell back into his old ways of not having enough time to serve the cause of Christ.  Then it happened.

Due to a work injury, Kyle was knocked flat on his back for twelve weeks.  After one week, Kyle was an extremely unhappy man.  One evening his wife suggested that he work on the project for God that he had neglected for so long.  Only after watching all the movies in the house did Kyle oblige her.

After several weeks of lying in bed and actually working on the project, he knew what God had called him to do.  Kyle was able to launch a whole new children's program at their church.  This was something he had talked about doing for a long while but could never seem to find the time to initiate.

Kyle believes to this day that God found the time that Kyle could not seem to.  He also believes that if God had not allowed his accident to happen, the children's ministry would never have been launched.  Through this program many children have been saved.  The outreach team at our church has been able to get into homes that they would not have otherwise been able to.  Even though Kyle needed a little nudge to get started, he was eventually faithful to God and did what He wanted.

Sometimes God may do those same kinds of things to each of us.  We may have everything we could ever want and still be unhappy.  If we are not doing what God wants us to do, we will be discontented with our lives.  Listen to God's calling.  If you do not, you may end up just like Kyle--flat on your back with nothing else to do except what God wants.

Thanks, Sister Ruth, for this insightful article.  As I was writing this down for you, I thought of King Solomon.  He states in the book of Ecclesiastes that he had an abundance of things, servants, vineyards, orchards and others, but they were all "vanity and chasing of the wind." I hope that none of us are or ever will be like Kyle.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, throughout this night or day and especially in the last days in which we live.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul