THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

November 4, 2020

LIFE IN THE FOLD:

I've mentioned in previous devotions that I babysit my nephew and his wife's two 2-year olds, who are 4 months apart. Their parents have them on a schedule so that they have the same routine daily, and I keep them to that same schedule when I'm watching them. One of those things is that both toddlers are put down for a nap at 1:00 pm.

I have a routine that I go through with each child before putting them in their crib. I'll hold them and sing a song. Then I'll say, "It's time to go night-night, okay..... No standing up and jumping in your bed, okay.... No talking, okay.... No playing, okay..... No crying and throwing fits, okay.....;" and they will answer, "Okay," after each thing I say. I give them a kiss, tell them that I love them, then lay them down. Then I go through that exact same routine with the other baby. Lastly, I go to the door, we blow kisses to each other and I tell them that I love them one more time, then close the door and go downstairs.

Not always, but generally, they are pretty good about being quiet and falling asleep fairly easily. But there is a reason why I say, "No playing, no standing in your bed and jumping, no crying and throwing fits;" because that has happened on more than one occasion.

A few days ago I had put them down for their nap and gone back downstairs. A few minutes later, Mariah started crying and hollering, "Retta, where are you? I need you!" over and over again. I can handle the crying and can ignore that pretty easily, but the crying and saying, "Where are you.... I need you," gets to me after a while and I can't just tune that out.

So after a few minutes, I went back upstairs and she reached her arms out to me and said, "Hug you... hug you!" I gave her hugs and told her that it was time for her to go to night-night, that I wasn't leaving but would be downstairs, and as soon as she woke up from her nap I would come up and get her. She said okay and seemed to be settled, so I put her back in her crib and left again to go downstairs.

A little later, she started the same thing again. She was loudly crying and hollering, "Retta, where are you.... where are you.... need you, Retta!" After about 10 minutes of her continuously doing that, my heart couldn't take it any longer. I knew that if I went back upstairs, I was risking this going on over and over again, because she would expect me to come up every time she cried and called for me; but I also knew that if I didn't go, she wouldn't settle down and would get so worked up that she wouldn't be able to fall asleep, plus she would keep her brother awake.

I went back upstairs and picked her up, with her blanket, sat down in the rocking chair and held her. She cuddled up against me and watched me as I sang to her and patted her back. It was as if she didn't want to close her eyes, in case I left again. Her brother, on the other hand, was relaxed laying in his bed and had smiled and told me hi when I'd walked into the room. He lay there looking at me, but as I sang, it didn't take him long to fall asleep.

Eventually, Mariah's body became relaxed and she began to doze off. I continued rocking and singing to her until she fell asleep, before laying her back down in her crib. Even then, I stayed in the room for a few minutes to make sure that she wasn't going to wake back up and start crying again.

As I was rocking her, the Holy Spirit showed me how this was a picture of how we often are with Jesus!

Whenever things are going well and our prayers are being answered and we feel the presence of Jesus, we are happy and contented, feeling safe and secure. We have no worries and life is great during those moments! But then something happens unexpectedly, or a situation lasts longer than we expect or want, or we're faced with adversity or bad news, and it doesn't take us long before we start feeling alone or abandoned. We start crying out, "Jesus, where are you... Jesus, where are you.... I need you... I need you!" Jesus has assured us, over and over again, that He will never leave or forsake us and has given us assurance that He is always there with us, but in that moment we panic and wonder where He is. We may even become fearful, not knowing what to expect or what is going to happen. So with tears, we frantically keep calling out to Him: "Jesus, where are you..... I need you!"

He will always come and give us assurance, and we may be okay for a short time, then we start worrying or fretting or something else happens that causes us once again to begin crying out, "Jesus, where are you.... I need you!"

Mariah is only 2 years old and doesn't have full understanding or comprehension of what it means when I tell her, "I'm not going to leave you, but will be downstairs. I can hear you at all times. Even though you can't see me, I'm always going to be nearby!" But as she matures, she will learn what that means and when I say those words to her, she will eventually understand and trust what I say.

There has to come a time when we develop and mature in our relationship with Jesus where we understand and trust what He says. When He says, "I will never leave or forsake you," that is what He means. When He says, "I'll be with you until the end of the world," that is what He means. We don't question every time we go through a difficult situation or when we feel as if He's not nearby or when our prayers aren't immediately answered; but we trust His word and have full confidence that if Jesus said it, then it's true and we can believe His promises. Even when we don't "see" Him, we have faith and trust that He's still right there.

The truth is, when those babies are upstairs napping, I'm downstairs where the doors to the home are. If anyone should try to get inside the house, that doesn't belong there, I would do everything within my power to protect those precious children and stand between them and danger. Even if someone were to manage to get by me, I would do everything possible to keep them safe. They don't know that I'm doing that and can't see me. In fact, they aren't even at an age where they know that they need someone to protect them and keep them safe. But they rest in feeling comfortable and secure.

Jesus is our protector, standing between us and the enemy. We often don't seen how He is watching over us and all the things that He is doing to keep us safe and secure, and so many times we take it for granted. Even during those times when we may feel attacked by the enemy, it's not because he overpowered Jesus or snuck by Him. Satan is never greater or bigger or more powerful than Jesus! Jesus is still there with us, even when we feel as if we are under attack, and He is shielding us from the fiery darts of wickedness and evil that Satan tries to throw our way. Psalms 3:3 says, "But you, O Lord, are a shield around me...."

During those moments when you are battling something and feel as if Jesus is far away, it's not that He has left, but He is wanting you to learn trust. He wants you to grow up! Those times of testing and trials may be happening in order to strengthen your faith and mature your trust in Jesus. They are never brought about to crush you or try to destroy your faith! But they may happen in order to purify you and get rid of "stuff" that needs to be uprooted and burned away. It is the desire of Jesus to have a close, intimate relationship with each one of us. But if we never learn to fully trust Him, then that relationship will never develop and mature as it should.

If a husband and wife never learns to trust one another, then their marriage is always going to be fragile. If there is jealousy, then trust will never develop. If there is always suspicion and questions if one of them gets home late or isn't where their spouse thinks they should be, they're never going to have a strong relationship. Each spouse has to be true to keep their word and be trustworthy. The marriage will either be always on the brink of falling apart, or will be filled with many arguments and unhappy moments, if there is a lack of or weakened trust. Both the husband and wife must trust their spouse (and be trustworthy themselves), be confident in their love, and be faithful to their vows, regardless of the hardships that life will bring, in order to have a strong marriage.

It's that same with our relationship with Jesus! We can't always be questioning where He is, accuse Him of leaving us, have fear and worry as our "go to" emotion when things are tough, feel neglected and expect to have a heathy, strong relationship with Him. We can't say we believe His promises, then question them when things don't go our way and hard times come. If this is how we are spiritually, our "marriage" to Jesus is always going to be fragile and never be strong and thriving.

We are the bride of Christ, which makes Jesus our Bridegroom. We have to be faithful to our vows and commitment and learn to fully trust Him, in all things, in order to have a strong, successful union with Him. If we are unfaithful to our vows, or only half-heartedly obey them, or only run to our Bridegroom when things are tough or we need something, that's not a real marriage. It's always going to be on the brink of coming unraveled. When hardships come, our tendency will be to feel betrayed and run away; or to only want to be committed when things are going well.

It's okay to cry out to Jesus and tell Him that you need Him. In fact, it's okay to cry... period. It's okay to tell Him that you just need to be held for a while and need His comfort and hands to hold you tight. That's not a lack of faith. It's okay to tell Him your concerns and ask for help in various situations or ask for wisdom in making decisions. It's okay to confess when worries or fear are overtaking your thoughts. It's okay to tell Jesus when you are feeling weak and distraught or angry or frustrated or hurt. He's big enough to handle it!

But it's not okay to trust in yourself or in others more than you trust Jesus. You may think you don't do that, but when something adverse happens or you need to make a big decision, who is the first one you talk it over with? Do you share it and hash it out with your spouse, siblings, parents..... then go to Jesus as a last resource? Just something to think about. We need to learn to trust that Jesus has the best answer and the best solution possible, and we can trust Him with everything.

Today be encouraged! Know that you can fully trust in Jesus! He is always trustworthy!! Rest in the love that He has for you; and let Him know that the love you have for Him is unwavering. Hold onto faith, regardless of what happens. Keep the vow that you made to Jesus to honor, love and obey Him; and know that He will be faithful to keep His vow and promises to each of us.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

I trust Jesus when He said, "The rain will fall on the just and the unjust alike." He didn't say our lives would be easy, free of illness, free of persecution, or free from hard work. In fact, He said life will get tough. And I trust Him in that.

We have had quite a few friends of our family who have gotten COVID this year, and a few family. Many of them have or are recovering. A few have died.

But this doesn't shake my belief that Jesus is with us.

Loretta and I were at my father's side when he breathed his last breath on earth. And I'm sure Jesus is by each of our sides when we breathe our last. I trust that it breaks His heart to watch us, just as it broke our hearts to watch my father. But once that last breath is finished, I imagine He will give us a big hug and welcome us home.

I know some people have a hard time imagining Jesus hugging us. He is supposed to be some stoic figure who we can't even approach. But I'm counting on that hug. And when I'm going through hard situations, I like to imagine what it will be like.

ON THE MENEWE:

Cinnamon Roll Casserole

Cut canned cinnamon rolls into quarters. Mix in a bowl with apple pie filling and nuts. Pour in a sprayed 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Drizzle the cinnamon roll icing (that comes with the cans) over the top when it comes out of the oven.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

As the month of November begins, I want to start it off by being thankful. Although I try to be thankful every day, sometimes I need a reminder to stop and take time for gratitude. In the busyness of life, we sometimes get so caught up in daily activities that we neglect taking those moments to thank God for what He's doing in our life and for the many blessings we experience.

In a year when things have been particularly stressful and the world has been experiencing something that we've never gone through in our lifetime, it's easy to get distracted with all the seemingly negative events occurring. Not only has this been a year of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it's been a stressful election year. We've seen changes occur with the required masks, how restaurants do business, not always finding items in grocery stores, and so many other things. But through it all, God remains faithful and He is still good! His Word and promises are still true and His love for us is unchanging. The world and things around us may change, but God will always be steadfast and unchangeable. His love for us never ends and His Word never becomes void. He never takes His eyes off of us and never loses track of the number of hairs on our head. God sees all, knows all, and is never caught by surprises at world events; and is never shocked at the things that happen in our lives. He never looks at something that happens and thinks, "Wow!! I never saw that coming!! What am I going to do now?!" We may not know the end result, but God always knows every single detail from beginning to end! For that, I am so incredibly thankful and grateful!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

Instead of asking, "Why is this happening to me?";

ask, "What is this teaching me?" - TobyMac

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org