IN THE SILENCE

"Receive what I give you," saith the Lord.

I am so eager to receive the good things--like Christmas presents and good health and all the beautiful things of nature. But Job said, "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10) I'm not so crazy about that!

But when I think back on the bad times in my life and my worst experiences, I see now that much good came from some of them. Maybe I'm still too close to see the good that came, or will come, from the others. I don't think You really send "evil," but You permit it to happen to us. John Baillie said, "Teach me, O God, so to use all the circumstances of my life to-day that they may bring forth in me the fruits of holiness rather than the fruits of sin. Let me use disappointment as material for patience . . . let me use danger as material for courage . . . let me use reproach as material for longsuffering . . . let me use pains as material for endurance."

But then I think again about the good things You give us. Accepting something from Your hands is different from receiving it. You have given me talents and abilities unique to me. If I do not use them, they are just wrapped gifts still under the tree or unwrapped, but stuck in a closet somewhere. You have sent Jesus to us. But if we do not receive Him into our hearts and minds and lives, instead of just celebrating His birth, then Christmas is just a holiday off from school and work, a day distinguished from others only by presents and lights and a big meal.

Help me, Lord, to truly receive You into my home, my life, and my heart, every minute of every day.

{From A Journal of the Spirit, a Journey of the Soul, by D.C. Ice, Dec. 24, 1992.}