Ecclesiastes 6:7-11
THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
“Better is the sight of the eyes than the wandering of desire; this also
is vanity and a chasing after wind.”
Ecclesiastes 6:9
I read the packing list. I saw the warning: “Hi-Tech clothing is not cheap.” Undaunted, I prepared to face the
hostile environment of nature in the Peruvian Alps. I was a part of a trekking team distributing newly
translated New Testaments to remote villages located in the rugged Cordilleras
Negra. I was well equipped with tough lug soled, ventilated hiking boots,
alloy-tipped hiking stick and polypropylene clothing. I had done an excellent job packing. “I have everything I need--except next
time I would throw in one of those towels with compressing properties,” I told
the director of missions, adding,
“you know the ones, super absorbent but fast drying.” He looked at me, and said, “Don’t think
about what you need--think about how to use what you have.” I looked at him, standing on the
mountaintop, dressed head to toe in cotton, wearing second-hand tennis shoes
and saw a ready vessel for God—a contented man. Humbled, I started to reflect
on familiar Bible stories, a papyrus basket, coated with tar and pitch, a tent
peg and hammer, a little oil and empty jars, five smooth stones from a stream,
shepherd’s bag and a sling, five loaves and two fishes. God uses possessions and people that
are available. I resolved to take the first step necessary to be used by God—be
content.
PRAYER: Lord, help me to live today in the
present. Help me make the best use
of what I am given. Make me a
vessel ready for the extraordinary by possessing a contented spirit; through
Christ Jesus. Amen.
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