July
Find What’s Best
by Cynthia Saladin
My favorite line in Johnny Diaz’s “Breathe” is “Lay down what’s good and find what’s best.” Think about that for a moment: We have all these good things around us. Life is good. My occupation is good. My hobbies and daily activities are good. My relationship with God is good. My relationship with my family is good. Et cetera. But . . . are they best?
The Israelites coming out of Egypt refused to go into the Promised Land. They gave up God’s best for them in refusing to obey Him. Life was still good. God went with them. God provided manna for them daily. God led them. God was there. But it was not God’s best.
Elisha’s final prophecy was to Joash, King of israel (2 Kings 13). He told Joash to take a bow and arrow and shoot it out the window. It was the LORD’s arrow of victory over Syria. Then Elisha told Joash to take the arrows and strike the ground with them. Joash took the arrows and struck the ground three times. There’s no indication that Joash knew why he was striking the ground, but Elisha was angry nevertheless. He told Joash that if he’d struck the ground five or six times, he would have completely made an end of
Syria, but now he would only have three victories over them. Joash settled for less than God’s best.
Consider the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The servant who had been given five talents worked diligently to gain five more. The servant who had been given two talents, gained two more. Both were commended and given a reward. The servant who was given one talent made excuses and didn’t work for the master. The master did not respond favorably. He didn’t accept the excuses. In fact, that servant was cast into outer darkness where there was weeping and gnashing to teeth. Definitely not God’s best.
Then there’s the story of Elisha and the widow’s oil (2 Kings 4:1-7). The widow was in desperate straits. The creditor was coming to take her two children as slaves to pay off her debts. Elisha told her to go borrow “not a few” vessels. When she had taken the vessels into her house, she began pouring oil. As one vessel filled, her sons brought her another. Finally, she asked for another and they told her there were no more. Then the oil stopped. She had enough to pay her debts and enough left over to support herself and her children. What if she had only borrowed two jars? What if she had settled for just a few jars? She diligently borrowed “not a few” and the oil flowed until they were all filled. The widow got to experience God’s best.
There are so many examples in the Bible, so many principles for us to apply to our own lives! Do we settle for what’s good, instead of what’s best, because we don’t trust God enough to obey Him? Do we persevere in our obedience? Or do we obey for a while and then shrug and declare it good enough for government work? Do we make excuses for our disobedience and our unbelief? Do we acknowledge Him in all our ways, allowing Him to direct our paths? Do we see something good and settle for less than God’s best?
Do you remember the story of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21)? This rich man had rich soil and abundant harvests. He wondered what he should do. Where was he going to store all of the harvest? He decided to tear down his old barn, build a bigger barn, store the harvest and sit back and take it easy. There’s nothing wrong with working hard and making plans to take it easy. Jesus’ condemnation centered on the fact that the rich fool was not rich toward God first!!
It occurred to me that although I would not be considered rich in material goods, I have a wealth that is enormous, howbeit not unlimited: time. What am I going to do with my time? What is most profitable for the kingdom? Here’s where the tricky part comes in! There are lots of good activities out there. I have one year left of homeschooling. Then what? What will I do with my time? I know I could very easily fill each day. There are so many things to do. What I don’t want to do is to settle for good. I don’t want to get busy, busy, busy. I want to take some time to sit at Jesus’ feet and figure out what God’s best is for me at this season in my life. What will bring Him glory and honor?
There’s a temptation to spend lots of time in Bible study and prayer. And that’s good too. But Jesus told His disciples to occupy until He comes. The fields are ripe unto harvest. The gospel needs to be spread. I’m not going to be part of that effort if I’m sitting at home, taking my ease, reading my Bible all day long. I need to be working for the kingdom! The days are short! But the cool thing is that God doesn’t want us just to survive; He wants us to thrive. He wants the very best for us. And it’s up to each of us to find not a few vessels for God to fill.
Trust Him, obey Him, honor Him, and find what’s best!
Find What’s Best
by Cynthia Saladin
My favorite line in Johnny Diaz’s “Breathe” is “Lay down what’s good and find what’s best.” Think about that for a moment: We have all these good things around us. Life is good. My occupation is good. My hobbies and daily activities are good. My relationship with God is good. My relationship with my family is good. Et cetera. But . . . are they best?
The Israelites coming out of Egypt refused to go into the Promised Land. They gave up God’s best for them in refusing to obey Him. Life was still good. God went with them. God provided manna for them daily. God led them. God was there. But it was not God’s best.
Elisha’s final prophecy was to Joash, King of israel (2 Kings 13). He told Joash to take a bow and arrow and shoot it out the window. It was the LORD’s arrow of victory over Syria. Then Elisha told Joash to take the arrows and strike the ground with them. Joash took the arrows and struck the ground three times. There’s no indication that Joash knew why he was striking the ground, but Elisha was angry nevertheless. He told Joash that if he’d struck the ground five or six times, he would have completely made an end of
Syria, but now he would only have three victories over them. Joash settled for less than God’s best.
Consider the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30). The servant who had been given five talents worked diligently to gain five more. The servant who had been given two talents, gained two more. Both were commended and given a reward. The servant who was given one talent made excuses and didn’t work for the master. The master did not respond favorably. He didn’t accept the excuses. In fact, that servant was cast into outer darkness where there was weeping and gnashing to teeth. Definitely not God’s best.
Then there’s the story of Elisha and the widow’s oil (2 Kings 4:1-7). The widow was in desperate straits. The creditor was coming to take her two children as slaves to pay off her debts. Elisha told her to go borrow “not a few” vessels. When she had taken the vessels into her house, she began pouring oil. As one vessel filled, her sons brought her another. Finally, she asked for another and they told her there were no more. Then the oil stopped. She had enough to pay her debts and enough left over to support herself and her children. What if she had only borrowed two jars? What if she had settled for just a few jars? She diligently borrowed “not a few” and the oil flowed until they were all filled. The widow got to experience God’s best.
There are so many examples in the Bible, so many principles for us to apply to our own lives! Do we settle for what’s good, instead of what’s best, because we don’t trust God enough to obey Him? Do we persevere in our obedience? Or do we obey for a while and then shrug and declare it good enough for government work? Do we make excuses for our disobedience and our unbelief? Do we acknowledge Him in all our ways, allowing Him to direct our paths? Do we see something good and settle for less than God’s best?
Do you remember the story of the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21)? This rich man had rich soil and abundant harvests. He wondered what he should do. Where was he going to store all of the harvest? He decided to tear down his old barn, build a bigger barn, store the harvest and sit back and take it easy. There’s nothing wrong with working hard and making plans to take it easy. Jesus’ condemnation centered on the fact that the rich fool was not rich toward God first!!
It occurred to me that although I would not be considered rich in material goods, I have a wealth that is enormous, howbeit not unlimited: time. What am I going to do with my time? What is most profitable for the kingdom? Here’s where the tricky part comes in! There are lots of good activities out there. I have one year left of homeschooling. Then what? What will I do with my time? I know I could very easily fill each day. There are so many things to do. What I don’t want to do is to settle for good. I don’t want to get busy, busy, busy. I want to take some time to sit at Jesus’ feet and figure out what God’s best is for me at this season in my life. What will bring Him glory and honor?
There’s a temptation to spend lots of time in Bible study and prayer. And that’s good too. But Jesus told His disciples to occupy until He comes. The fields are ripe unto harvest. The gospel needs to be spread. I’m not going to be part of that effort if I’m sitting at home, taking my ease, reading my Bible all day long. I need to be working for the kingdom! The days are short! But the cool thing is that God doesn’t want us just to survive; He wants us to thrive. He wants the very best for us. And it’s up to each of us to find not a few vessels for God to fill.
Trust Him, obey Him, honor Him, and find what’s best!
