In 1799, 12-year-old Conrad Reed was playing in the section of Little Meadow Creek that ran through his family’s land, when he spotted a shimmering stone in the stream. Captivated by its shimmer, he picked it up and carried it home to his father, John Reed. John used the rock as a doorstop for the next three years.

In 1802, he sought the advice of a Fayetteville jeweler about the large rock he used to prop open the door. The jeweler revealed the rock was no ordinary stone. It was a 17-pound gold nugget – the first documented discovery of gold in the U.S. John Reed, formerly a poor man, died wealthy after his family started their very own mining company.

Isn’t that story remarkable?? The Reed Family walked past a piece of gold, with extreme worth for years, thinking it was nothing more than a handy doorstop. How often does the same thing happen to us? We walk past valuable relationships, opportunities, moments thinking they are merely a door prop in this life versus something or someone who can add tremendous value to our days.

I think of the Jeremy Camp song “Keep Me In The Moment”! Lord help us not to miss one thing along the way that can impact our lives for the good, for the better… times we can beautifully be the hands of feet of Jesus to those around us.

Gold is priceless in this world, but lives have eternal weight that lasts forever. Maybe today we can stop and be intentional about asking the Lord to open our eyes to treasures we are casually walking past in our living room or kitchen, not noticing the gem right at our feet.

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I can smell it before I even get in the front door. The aroma makes my mouth water and I grow impatient for dinner. When I finally take that first bite, it practically melts in my mouth. It is so tender and delicious and so worth the wait. As I savor every bite, I wonder why I ever prepare it any other way. What is it, you ask? Anything slow cooked in a crock pot!

I’m usually in a big hurry and the microwave will have to do, but the smell, taste and texture in the microwave leave a lot to be desired. Often times, our life is like this. I’m in too big of a hurry to realize what I’m missing because I’m always looking for a short cut. We may be in an age of break neck speed and we may be microwave people, but I’m pretty sure we have a crock pot God.

In Ecclesiastes 3:11 Solomon tells us: “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Then in Psalm 27:14 we read: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” I hate waiting! But when I run ahead of God, when I use the microwave instead of the crock pot, I’m always disappointed with the results!

And I’m not alone. When we go back to the first book of the Bible, we learn that God promised Abram he would have descendants more in number than the sands of the sea and the stars in the sky. But Sarai, his wife was not able to have children yet. We read in Genesis 16, she decided they could not wait any longer. She ran ahead of God, giving Abram her Egyptian maidservant Hagar to conceive an heir. As you can imagine, that didn’t turn out well. And still to this day, the child of promise is at war with her microwave solution, Ishmael!

I love what Dr. Charles Stanley once said about waiting; “There is one thing worse than waiting on the Lord and that is…wishing that you had!”

Ever been there? Abram and Sarai were, and I have been many times. It’s really hard not to get ahead of God, but I’m trying to learn that when you wait on the Lord and His best for you, it always tastes much better!

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It’s Monday, July 16, 1945. It’s 5:30 in the morning. A blinding flash suddenly awakens the sleepy village of Carrizozo, New Mexico. Two minutes later there is a deafening roar. The first atomic bomb has been detonated 35 miles away, and a new age has been ushered in.

Less than a month later, on August 6, President Harry Truman announced to the nation that an atomic bomb had been dropped on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. Oddly enough, the code name for the atomic bomb project was Trinity. I’d like to think Harry Truman knew the power behind that name.

I mean, think about it, we carry that same atomic power Jesus gave to the disciples, all those many years ago, to go out into all four corners and touch a hurting, dying world, to truly be His hands and feet. Tragically, we seem to overlook or forget this tremendous calling on our lives from the moment we accept Jesus as our Savior. From the instant that glorious relationship begins, the enemy does all he can to drive us away from understanding the tremendous power we carry. His mantra becomes: “If I can’t win their souls, I’ll pull every trick out of my hat to make sure they are totally ineffective.” I mean, he’ll come at us with everything under the sun possible. He’ll try to waylay us in the midnight hour as an individual. He doesn’t play.

But, in this rough and tumble, never ending battle, our sanity comes from knowing he is fully defeated in the end. We’ve read the back of The Book and we win!  So thankful today for beloved souls who have taken time to remind me of this truth when I couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Here’s the beautiful hope, dear ones. In all this muck & mire, Jesus has ushered in the power to trample on the enemy’s head with the strength of the Cross. There is nothing, not one thing we can’t overcome with the Holy Spirit living and dwelling in our souls.

You, my friend, are an atomic bomb for the Kingdom! Now that’s something to shout about today!!

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When my children were young, one of the phrases we often heard around our house was: “That’s not fair!” Almost from the time they could talk, it seemed they had radar that could detect unequal treatment. Now that my kids are grown, I see it in my grandchildren. “She did this and got away with it!’ or “I got punished and he didn’t!” It seems as though the little ones have an overly developed sense of fairness. Of course, the adult in the room has to break up the fight and remind the little immature humans that life isn’t always fair.

Since more often than not, I was that adult, today I wonder why I didn’t learn that lesson. Oh, for me it’s no longer about sibling rivalry but I realize that I’m still greatly bothered by the unfair! Whether it’s the child who is mistreated by a bully, the godly person who is marginalized for their faith, or the helpless who are cast aside. I’m an adult now. Why does it still bother me when truth is maligned and deception lauded or when good is called evil and evil called good? Maybe as believers, God made us to have that sensitivity. And I know I’m in good company.

Asaph was a musician who wrote a few of the Psalms. My favorite is Psalm 73. It’s worth the read. He starts out very transparent about his feelings with these words:

“Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped. For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.”

Asaph goes on to lament that the wicked don’t suffer pain but continually grow fat. They aren’t in trouble but are constantly causing it. They are proud and covered with violence. They don’t believe Heaven sees or will hold them accountable. That description from an ancient psalmist sounds like it could have been in this morning’s paper.

So, what do we as adults do with this frustrating feeling? May I suggest that we do what Asaph did? Get a Heavenly perspective. We pick up his thoughts with verse 16:

“But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end. Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.”

Our God promises to make all things right one day. Chances are though, it won’t be in our preferred timing. But it is a promise we can hold on to and until that day, we can regain our Lord’s perspective on all that is going on around us by spending time in prayer, in His Word and in His House!

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When I think of my Dad, the first word that comes to mind is patient. How many times did I run out of gas in the wee hours of the morning, run up his credit card bill on polo shirts, or bring way too many friends on vacation? I really think any other man would have gladly traded me in for a better daughter model any day of the week.

Dad was a beautiful picture of Jesus and I know, now, that is so rare. He made it easy for me to believe God was good and true and loving. My dad was born a champion. You know, one of those “one in a million” people that just came here good.

He was smack dab in the middle of a passel of boys. He started carrying a paper route when he was 10, rising up at the crack of dawn every morning with his older brother, to deliver the daily news to one and all. After a full morning, even in the Summer, they came home to a yummy breakfast, then went about their day. This paper route money, saved for 8 years, would go on to pay for dad’s college education.

My dad often told me unbelievable stories, which I have written on the fibers of my heart. One time, while serving in the Air Force, he was flying with his battalion when their plane started to break apart. In an instant, the pilot realized Dad was the only one with no parachute, so he decided to try to steady the plane a wee bit longer and then things began to settle down. That very day, Dad learned the power of prayer. After they settled safely on the ground, the pilot shouted back to Dad as they walked from the tarmac. “Hey Kitchens, you must be a praying man.” Indeed, he was and continued to be until his roll was beautifully called up yonder 70 years later.

Dad was one of those rare gems that could put everyone at ease instantly. He was a dentist for 40 years and people loved him. Most people dread a visit to the dentist, but not his patients. He would make people laugh, with his demure sense of humor, and even distract them from an impending shot. When he retired, it was a sad local community. I remember vividly coming home for some occasion or another and Dad had sweetly placed an adorable teddy bear in a dress and hair bow on my bed with a sign that read, “Welcome Home!” signed Tessie. I still have that bear to this day.

I had the honor of being there when my dad took his last breath on this earth. Not long before, he had asked for a good ole cup of coffee, one of his favorite things. Days before in the hospital, he would drift in and out and often stroke the invisible pets that I know he was seeing on the other side. I wish I could have only seen a glimpse of the grand reunion they had in glory as he was tenderly and jubilantly welcomed home.

I have often asked the Lord why I was so blessed to have one of the most amazing men on the planet as my Dad. I feel the Lord sweetly replies, “So you can take that love to those around you everywhere you go.” And I am determined to do just that!!

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Lately, my wife Vicki and I have been trying to declutter our home. We’ve been going through all the closets and finding things that we’ve had for years, from when our children were little. In that process, I noticed something I guess I hadn’t thought about before. Little children’s play things tend to be very colorful and shiny! I’m sure that’s helpful in getting and keeping a young child’s attention. The bright and shiny catches their eye and they want it.

Unfortunately, as adults, we haven’t outgrown that fascination for the bright and shiny and the enemy of our souls knows that very well. He can dress up sin in some of the brightest colors and make it sparkle so it catches our eye and makes us want to have it. What he will never let us see is the ugly, destructive nature of that sin. If we saw that, we would never be tempted.

A number of years ago there was a popular gospel song whose chorus shed light on this:

Sin will take you farther than you want to go, slowly but wholly taking control.

Sin will leave you longer than you want to stay. Sin will cost you far more than you want to pay!

The Apostle Paul also addresses this progression of sin as he warns the Christians at Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-15:

Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

This passage gives us hope because there are several steps that happen before we fall headlong into sin and each of those steps gives us opportunity to turn away; an opportunity to recognize that what we see might not be all there is. With God’s help, we can see what’s behind all the glitz and glitter before it’s too late!

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Most of us are okay, when everything is going good. However, it can get a little sticky, when we are working through some conflict. And you know what I found out from the book, Help! I Work with People? It’s all about us, our attitudes, our strengths and our healthy emotions and allowing God to really reveal them to us. Talk about pain…ful! The truth revealed is like pulling back layers of onion. But, oh how sweet to come to the point where you realize you need help and it’s the help that only God can give. He wants to work – it – out. Whatever “it” may be. And instead of looking at the other person – as if THEY have the problem or ARE the problem – with God’s help, we have a truthful look at our hearts, our attitudes and even our motives.

I’m so glad God looks within and gives us the opportunity to change our hearts, like in Ezekiel 36: 26-27, where it says, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you, your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you to be careful to keep my laws.” God’s Spirit leading our hearts, and we find out, it’s really NOT ABOUT us. It’s all about Him – and He’s the One that can truly make the difference when we say, HELP! I work with people.

Joy Ware Miller – Development Director | Strong Tower Christian Media

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