Recent Blog Entries
-
Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me. Don't throw me from your presence, and don't take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation. Uphold me with a willing spirit. Psalms 51:10 WEBDavid had an affair with Bathsheba while her husband Uriah was serv... -
RHM Devotional: The Missing Bread from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo. Today I want to talk about the lack of provision, and all the things that seem to come with it. When we are faced with the lack of something, we tend to look at ourselves, what can “we” do, in our strength, an...
-
Then we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea, as Yahweh spoke to me; and we encircled Mount Seir many days. Yahweh spoke to me, saying, 'You have encircled this mountain long enough. Turn northward.' Deuteronomy 2:1-3 WEBThe Israelites wandered forty years in th...
The Mechanical Rabbit
-
For to the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he gives travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him who pleases God. This also is vanity and a chasing after wind. Ecclesiastes 2:26 WEB
In dog racing, they have a lure called a mechanical rabbit that runs along a rail beside the race track. At the start of the race, the dogs line up and then chase this rabbit around the track, but no one ever catches it. When the next race comes, the dogs line up again and chase the rabbit. If they were to ever catch it, they would find that it was not nearly as satisfying as they thought, for it would just be a mouthful of hard plastic.
In the same way, many of us line up each day and chase an uncatchable rabbit. Success, money, career, are all well and fine, but they have to be in balance. God has given His people wisdom, knowledge, and joy. Not merely the drudgery of gathering, collecting, and hoarding. If your main focus is on things and you finally catch it, then you will be disappointed.
There is a better way: First, delight yourself in the Lord and then He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalms 37:4). Seek the kingdom of God first, and His righteousness and all of these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:33). God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6).
Do not fall into the rut of chasing a mechanical rabbit day after day while running past the most important things in your life, which are not things. When your focus is on the Lord, the things that you desire will begin to chase you, instead of you having to chase them.
Prayer: Heavenly Father please help me to focus on You and grow my relationship. I choose You Lord, draw my heart. Please work Your perfect will in my life and give me a clear vision of all that You have for me, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray.
Note: For those following our Creation Photographers group, here is the theme of the week: 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away." - 'The Many Colors of Love' will be our theme leading into the month of February and is wide open for some creative interpretation! Our themes are always open for interpretation and we encourage you to post anything else that inspires you as well. My photos this week (in the group) reflect some of the many colors of love in my life: family love, sister love, mother love, cousin love, God's Love surrounding us, and birding/nature love, just to name a few. May you ALL be surrounded by the many colors of love God has gifted us each day and may you All be the love someone needs today. God bless! Here is the link: Creation Photographers> You can subscribe to our daily devotional here <
Tip: You must be logged into the website to leave comments.
Social Sharing
Thank you for the message today. When owning your own business it seems like daily we chase the mechanical rabbit. I pray that God would take control, because I'm really tired. I know it's probably a part of his plan for me to experience this. I am learning to trust more and more. Please Lord, help me to keep my focus on you instead of the rabbit. Help me to be more thankful instead of more worryful. Amen.
Login with a social network