9 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.
1 Timothy 6:9-10
I am absolutely certain that God has a sense of humor. Today He led me into His Word in a convoluted way that had me literally laughing out loud … a humor break – and also a Bible lesson and some restorative rest – all of which I desperately needed!
I’ve been struggling through a somewhat overwhelming stretch for several days … with more worldly tasks than time to complete them. I found myself reaching out to Jesus many times for strength, guidance, the ability to accept help that was offered (something that’s hard for me), and help remaining calm and trusting that He is in control … all of which I gratefully received, praise God! But now I needed to catch up on some lost sleep.
My intention was to take a short nap and then dive back into my long list of worldly tasks. Instead I fell fast asleep and didn’t wake up for hours … in the process missing a Bible study group I hadn’t wanted to miss.
As I roused from my lengthy nap and realized it was much later than I’d intended, my mind sprinted to a worldly obligation I mistakenly (in my half-awake state) thought I’d accidentally blown off.
I thought I was supposed to have sent out some info determined by a lottery. The lottery wheel was already spinning, and it landed on an unfavorable number. My first thought was, “Oh no! Am I doing this wrong? Should I have prayed first before I started this task?”
Before the next thought could enter my mind, the wheel spun again and this time landed on a very fortunate number that would have caused some people to come into an unexpected bounty of money. But my next thought was, “Oh no, wait! I can’t pray for good fortune in gambling! Did I just do that?”
By that time I was awake and reaching for the Bible. I knew I needed to re-read what the Word said about love of money before I did anything else.
See what just happened there? I overslept. I missed my Bible study. So God provided me a customized lesson via a humorously convoluted half-dream that led me into His Word the very moment I woke up.
I found myself literally laughing out loud … delighting in God’s way of addressing my individual needs, including my need for restorative rest and my consternation over the missed Bible study, before I could sprint back into the worldly tasks I’m feeling pressured to complete.
GodChild 