We may know now where the country of
Kuwait is since the Gulf war spotlighted it. But a generation or so
ago it was not widely known and inhabited mostly by poor Bedouin tent
dwellers. They were sheep and goat herders, impoverished and
pathetic. As if things weren't bad enough, they noticed that their
water source had become contaminated.
They were reported complaining, “If
only there wasn't an oil slick on the water of our wells and rivers,
our animals could drink safely and we could survive.” That was
before they found out the incredible value of that nuisance oil that
lay beneath the surface of the sand. Their discovery made them among
the richest people in the world. Palaces replace tents and modern
high rise buildings and resorts dot the sand dunes.
What is our “if only” complaint?
If only my circumstances had been
different....
If only I had been born of different
parents....
If only I had received more education
or studied a different field....
If only I had such and such talent or
ability....
If only I had married someone else....
If only my children had turned out
better....
If only I had chosen a different job or
career....
If only I could change my location....
If only I were young again and could
start all over....
The grass always looks greener
somewhere else. The Lord promised to lead His children “in green
pastures” but perhaps the desert of our present life doesn't look
much like a palm-treed oasis. Other people always seem to get the
breaks.
Have we given serious thought and
prayer to the fact that the oil in our water source may be there for
some wonderful purpose of God? For our good? We are where we are
because God planted us there. We are exactly who we are meant to be
because God planned it that way. What we think is a hindrance, an
obstacle, a stone of stumbling, may be a stepping stone for some
opportunity that we have yet to see.
Our response as Christians to our
circumstances is the key to finding the oil beneath the sand of our
personal desert. We may be seeing no further than the smelly sheep
and goats of our humdrum daily lives. God may have spiritual oil
derricks in mind whereby we could not only experience victory over
the adversities in our lives, but we could point others to our source
of strength in Christ.
Let's look over the sandy desert of our
lives today and put aside the “If onlys” of our grievences. It is
a matter of outlook and attitude and vision. Let's pray that the Lord
would open our eyes to see “green pastures and still waters” not
as a false mirage but as a optimistic reality. We don't have to move
anywhere else or change our circumstances. The Lord might have
exciting surprises for us in the very situation where He has put us!
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