Lord my God, I will praise you forever. (Ps. 30:12)
Abraham Lincoln liked to tell a story about a proud farmer who lived in a house that had been passed down to him through several generations. A 130-year-old oak tree sat on the property and provided both shade and protection for the farmer and his house. One day, the farmer saw a squirrel run into a hole halfway up the tree. This, of course, meant that the tree was hollow and could fall down at any time. The farmer had to make a choice: leave the tree alone and realize that someday it will fall and destroy his house or cut down the tree. Lincoln reported the farmer’s response as saying, “I wish I never saw that squirrel.”
The truth of the matter is that God has seen our lives and whether we care to admit it or not, he knows how hollow and full of destruction our hearts can be. What God wants to do in us is greater than anything we can imagine. He could have left us to our own wicked and sinful ways, but he didn’t! He pursues us, and when let him find us, he cleans us from the inside out. Our reasonable response to God should be to thank him for not giving up on us.
Be glad you saw the squirrel, for it is God working in you to make you holy.
Thank God for faithfully working in our lives.
Devon Smith is district superintendent of the Tri-State District of The Wesleyan Church, and founder/director of the CROSS Training ordination program at Oklahoma Wesleyan University.
© 2020 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission.
Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
