First Meditation

I have been meditating on a thought I have had

for a while.

 God doesn’t talk about the way he will work out

His words to us.

 Our life would be so much easier if God would say.

 “James, This is what is going to occur and this is

 how you are to go about it”. It may have happened

 somewhere , sometime, that I am unaware of.

 However, I’ll bet it is almost as rare as chickens’ teeth.

Why? Why does our heavenly Father/Mother

really force us  to search for the answer and direction?

  Is this what is meant,” Working out our Salvation”? I believe it is.

In our desire to find the answer or direction our

Father/Mother creates a multifaceted depth to

our walk that wouldn’t be there if it came easy.

Shallow rooted trees are the first to blow over in

a windstorm, the same with people. What binds

itself to the depth which God fashions in us? It

is Endurance, a mental/spiritual  toughness.

  We learn to endure the long hard and dark night,

 making us more appreciative of the daylight.

Depth speaks clearly of endurance one cannot exist without

the other.

 Perseverance is the soul mate of Endurance and Depth.

 It is the putting one-foot in front of the other, the

 “Keep on Truckin” idea

 (For those of you that were much hipper in

 the 60’s and 70’s ).

 It’s when the mud on the trail gets thick and sticky,

and every time you move your feet it tries to

suck your boots off. You keep moving your

feet, even if it is just a little wriggle trying to

free your feet you keep on, that’s Perseverance.

Sometimes we lose our shoes, but we keep on. I

think both Endurance and Perseverance are the

backbone of this. “Perseverance must finish its

work so that you may be mature and complete,

not lacking in anything”. (Jas.1: 4)

It makes us well-rounded and sometimes cranky people.

Earlier I spoke about our desire to find the

answer. We desire many things, however this desire

doesn’t stand alone as the motivator in these

things. It stands as a bond slave bound to the

love of and for our heavenly Father/Mother.

Obedience is the love child of this desire, this

union of Endurance and Perseverance. If you

have persevered and endured then you have

learned to listen. Obey means to hear.

Obedience is the yoke that Christ took on.

Obedience is a sometimes cruel and a demanding

taskmaster and sometimes she is a delight.

Nonetheless, she is inextricably linked to

Endurance and Perseverance. Obedience

sisters name is Discipline. Obedience depends

on Discipline to carry out her wishes the two

are inseparable. Discipline was at work with

Perseverance when the boots were being

sucked off our feet by the thick sticky mud

and we kept on going. Endurance was walking

through the cold squishy mud without

our boots. Obedience was the driving

force behind the trip through the mud

and to the goal.

Obedience is the answer to the question, Why ?

Discipline answers the question, how? Depth

takes Endurance and Perseverance and reflects

the beauty provided in our lives in the answer

to the question how.

“Blessed is the person who perseveres under

trial, because when they have withstood the test

they will receive the crown of life that God has

promised to those that love God”. (Jas 1:12)

Just some thoughts to think of next time

 you start wondering why we are forced to

search for answers instead of being given them

when God speaks. There is a reason we look

through a mirror darkly.