His determination paid off; he had emptied my bird feeder and
satisfied his hunger. I learned a lesson about what squirrels can teach about
determination.
I had decided to take my new cedar birdfeeder to the church
and hang it outside my office window. Soon, birds of a wide variety showed up.
So did squirrels.
On one of my trips to fill the feeder, I noticed that both
side panels were missing. I picked up the panels from the ground and carefully
slid them back into the grooved slots. No
squirrel could do this, I thought.
Thinking someone was playing a prank on me, I silently blamed
it on the young guys who maintain our lawn. But I was wrong on both accounts.
The next day, I noticed the top of the birdfeeder was cocked to the side, and one
of the panels was almost out. Now I knew who the culprit was. Because of his
determination to get sunflower seeds, Mr. Squirrel was destroying my feeder.
Tittle tattle may lose the battle—but so will laziness. Moses
and his counterparts, Aaron and Hur, were not about to let that happen. As
Joshua, the military commander, carried out God’s command to fight and defeat
the Amalekites because of their wickedness, Moses mounted a mountain and raised
his arms. When his arms tired, Aaron and Hur set him on a rock and held up his
arms. As long as his arms were raised, the Israelite army prevailed.
Determination can apply to any number of life areas, but it
is a must where spirituality is concerned. Without it, we won’t prepare
financially for our futures. Without it, we won’t do our best in our profession
or place of employment. Apart from determination, life will topple us instead
of us conquering it.
More drastically, if we’re not determined, our focus on
developing spiritual disciplines, serving, worshiping, and loving others will
suffer. And this will affect our existence more than slacking on anything else.
The Israelites’ battle with the Amalekites was more than a
physical encounter; it was a spiritual war. Only with squirrel determination—fueled by the power of God’s Spirit within us—can we win our
daily battles with temptation and make choices that please God.
Be determined to be the person God created you to be and to
get what God has planned for you.
Father, create in me a determination to be all you plan for me
to be.
I invite you to try my book Hurt, Hope, and Healing in eBook or paperback. If you seek hope and healing because of the hurts you have faced, this book is for you. Click on the title above to order your copy. And thanks to all our faithful followers who share our posts on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin.
No comments:
Post a Comment