[Faith-talk] Daily Thought for Wednesday, April 2, 2014

[Paul]

Hello and greetings again to most of you on this Wednesday.  I hope that your day, whether morning, afternoon or evening, is going along well.

Again, we have an article from last year.  It was written by Barbara Tuttle, a writer from Michigan, and her contribution today is entitled "Escape," rendered as follows:

I loved the sights and smells of my first vegetable garden.  It was a small project, spanning 10 feet by 5 feet.  Every morning I donned gardening gloves and tiptoed between the rows, yanking weeds and crunching green beans.  I discovered the thrill of observing little peas swell inside their pods, watching and waiting for them to ripen.

My beloved garden had one little problem.  Bunnies.  All the neighborhood bunnies wanted to try out the new restaurant in town.  Word spread quickly about the tasty treats growing in my backyard.

And wire fencing did not deter them.  One morning, I startled two bunnies happily nibbling green beans, when I appeared suddenly beside them.  The smarter of the two quickly escaped--zoom! He was gone.  The other bunny frantically tried to find his way out of the garden.  In sheer terror, he bounced back and forth between the fences.  Boing!

My heart ached for the poor little guy.  I thought he was going to drop dead of a heart attack right there in my pea patch.  For the first time in my life, I prayed for a panic-stricken bunny.  I prayed that he would settle down and find a way out of his dilemma.

And wouldn't you know, God heard my cry and delivered that bunny before my eyes.  In one amazing split second, the bunny shrunk right down into the shape of a hotdog, and slithered between two wires of the fence.  He was free.

After his harrowing ordeal, maybe he thought twice the next time he was tempted to trespass.  We are not so very much different from that bunny.  Many different temptations entice men and women to come and taste.

God knows all about our weaknesses.  Indeed, we are tempted by different things.  Our individual predispositions, family background, and life experiences create different vulnerabilities in each of us.

Some people are weakened in their struggle with pornography.  Drugs and alcohol tempt others who are hurting and reach to dull an empty ache inside.  Still others are tempted with compulsions to overspend, overeat, shoplift, or gamble.  The desire to gossip can be extremely difficult for some people to resist.

Our spiritual enemy wants to trap us into the snare of self-gratification.  But the promise of self-gratification is an empty promise.  Self-gratification does not lead to fulfillment.  It leads to many addictions, which in turn leads to broken bodies, broken hearts, and broken families.  It leads to remorse.  It leads to the question "Is that all there is?"

That poor bunny found himself trapped by his own temptation in the garden.  Jesus didn't come that you and I might live frantic lives.  God delivered the little bunny, and is more than able to deliver you and I from our own pressing temptations.

"No testing has overtaken you that is not common to everyone.  God is faithful, and He will not let you be tested beyond your strength, but with the testing He will also provide the way out so that you may be able to endure it." (1 Corinthians 10:13)

And there you have your midweek Daily Thought which I hope was a blessing for you today.

And now may the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob just keep us safe, individually and collectively, in these last days in which we live.  Lord willing, tomorrow there will be another daily thought message for you.  Your Christian friend and brother, Paul