June 11, 2011 Want an Ice Cream?

Want an Ice Cream?
Read Proverbs 23 – 25

Prov 25:14 People who promise things that they never give are like clouds and wind that bring no rain. (TEV)

I HAD invited someone over to help me with a project. I planned on getting the work done, then having some time for a little recreation and maybe an ice cream treat. I wanted to reward the one who came to help.
But he never came. I talked to him later, and he had said it hadn’t worked out as he thought. He wondered if he could come later. I said I’d completed the work and no longer needed him.
It was easy to judge and even condemn the person. But then I thought, “Have I ever done that to God?” What do I do when God asks me to perhaps go on a mission trip, or I get a call to help a neighbor in need? Too often it’s been, “Not now. Something’s come up. Maybe next time.”
I think we all do that, don’t we? We want God to adjust his work to our schedule. When you have thoughts to work with God, it’s God’s Spirit inviting you to join him. He wants you to work with him, and he wants to bless you, reward you—to “give you an ice cream”—for your work.
When he invites, go. Don’t disappoint him. Or he’ll find someone else. And you’ll miss out on his treats.


Pause and Consider: how much you appreciate someone’s help. God loves it when you work with him.