Fireflies
The fireflies of my youth are now scarce. Occasionally I’ve seen a few in parks outside of larger cities. But that’s rare.
I recently read an article about the decline of fireflies. Apparently, they have been partially wiped out by fire ants, mosquito sprays and pollution.
But as a child, fireflies were out in abundance - especially in the Texas Hill Country, near East Texas lakes and ponds and along the Guadalupe river.
During summer nights, magic happened as the little creatures whimsically flew among the flowers, trees and bushes – turning their lights on and off - a special dance just for me. A child’s delight. A bedtime story.
I was in awe.
Even with my sweaty little hands, I managed to gently catch a few. Palms open, I peered at the mystical little fairies as they lit.
I am still that child. Awed by nature. Delighted by butterflies. Amazed by the night skies.
Are you that child?
Are you still enchanted by summer breezes, the smell of burning leaves in the fall, a winter fire and the hoot of an owl? Does it make you smile to pet a dog, walk through tall trees or eat a peach right off the tree? Do you still believe in the magic of a starry night, the possibility of all things good and the idea of holding someone’s hand who you totally trust?
Just as things have encroached upon the lives of fireflies, life situations impinge, to the point of almost snuffing out, the life of the child within us.
After all, for many of us, days are heavy with pain. Disappointments are plentiful. Struggles are monumental. Certain relationships are gut-wrenching. And bad news is plentiful.
We often lose our child-like wonder as we lose our trust. After all, who can we lean upon to care about and participate in everything that concerns us? Who can we trust who is powerful enough to positively affect everything that concerns us?
Is there someone who knows everything, offers free wisdom and “gets” us without our needing to explain? Is there anyone who has been through what we are going through and has come out of the suffering into a better place?
The answer is yes.
Hebrews 4:15 specifically states, “We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all…” (Message Bible)
The God of the Universe, the very definition of love, with infinite power to change man’s negative facts into His wonderful truths “gets” you.
He knows exactly what you are going through. You can trust Him to care for all of your concerns and believe that He has answers, provision, and miracles for all of your needs.
In trusting God, we are free to be children.
In trusting Him for wisdom, favor, healing (body, soul and spirit), provision and to make a way where there is no way – our minds can be released to dream and wonder and be in awe of creation again.
Don’t zoom through these Scriptures. This is God’s last will and testament concerning YOUR inheritance. As a child of God, these promises are for YOU.
“I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God;
Incline Your ear to me and hear my speech.
Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand,
O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them.
Keep me as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me under the shadow of Your wings…
(Psalm 17:6-8 NKJ)
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD,
And whose hope is the LORD.
For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters,
Which spreads out its roots by the river,
And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green,
And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit.
(Jeremiah 17:7,8 NKJ)
“I sought the LORD, and He heard me,
And delivered me from all my fears.”
(Psalm 34:4NKJ)
“I will love You, O LORD, my strength.
The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer;
My God, my strength, in whom I will trust;
My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised;
So shall I be saved from my enemies.
(Psalm 18: 1-3)
“As for God, His way is perfect;
The word of the LORD is proven;
He is a shield to all who trust in Him.
For who is God, except the LORD?
And who is a rock, except our God?
It is God who arms me with strength,
And makes my way perfect.
(Psalm 18:30-32)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.”
(Proverbs 3:5,6 NKJ)
And this is for someone out there…
Get your eyes off of the negative situation, the bad reports and what she or he is going to do and onto what God is going to do.
Grab a promise Scripture like one from above and make it yours by applying it to the situation that you are concerned about. Make it your promise from God as He intended it to be.
When I had bone marrow leukemia (AML) I held onto several Scripture promises that I made mine from God. I kept my eye on the promise and not what might happen or even what the doctors and nurses said.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
Do not be wise in your own eyes;
Fear the Lord and depart from evil.
It will be health to yourflesh,
And strength(marrow) to your bones.”
(Proverbs 3:5-8)
In having that promise from God, I was certain that He was telling me not to lean on what I knew. (That my bone marrow was 99% cancer) but to pull Him into every second of my life and respect (fear) what He had to say over everyone else and THAT would be health to my flesh and (new) marrow to my bones. That was 20 years ago. There isn’t the slightest medical chance that I should be alive today. But that story is for another time.
So what are some promises from God concerning your situation? Look in His Word. Or for heaven’s sake, even google it. Write it out and make it yours.
If you don’t make it yours then it is just a nice saying but it won’t change your life.
And never say it’s too late or too long. Believe it and nothing else.
“Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all(as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” And not being weak in faith, he did not consider his own body, already dead (since he was about a hundred years old), and the deadness of Sarah’s womb. He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform. And therefore “it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
(Romans 4:16-22 NKJ)
