“There’s not one totally good person on earth, not one who is truly pure and sinless.” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 The Message Bible)
There is a screensaver function on my computer, and perhaps on yours as well. One day the screensaver was a picture of a haystack in an open field, When I first saw it, I thought of the 16th century idiom about “finding a needle in a haystack,” a saying that refers to times when something or someone is hard to find. Quickly I saw through the God-conscious prism I have encourage you to use consistently, and I ended up with a challenge for you and me on this day,
The challenge: Find that something that is hard for you to find, from a believer’s perspective. Find the forgiveness for someone who needs you to forgive them; find it before you even talk with that someone. Find righteousness that exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees in Jesus’ time. Find that sin that you have labeled or let us say “mislabeled” as being okay and pluck it out. Find that obedience to Jesus’ words, “But I say unto you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.” Find that joy that you have heard about, “Suffering only last for a nighttime, but joy comes in the morning.” Thinking more about your blessings than your burdens or even finding the blessings in your burden will help. Find your prayer life which got stuck in the haystack. Find the exact, specific Scripture that you need to address your situation and to successfully sword fight with Satan’s seducing tactics. Remember the Bible says, just confirming, “And take…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Find the needle in a haystack that is most relevant to you on this Wednesday morning.
Make no mistake about it, the challenge to find “that needle in the haystack” is personal, but we know that we all have some areas where we can be better, enhance our purity. We will not be perfect, but as you have heard me say, “Aim for perfection and achieve excellence.” Therefore, accept the challenge. (Note: I did not list all that one could find in the haystack in the paragraph above. Those were just examples.) Search for the hard to find that you should be looking for today. You already know the obvious areas of improvement that you need to work on. But there is a “needle in the haystack” that you will have ignored and have been unable to find, not yet. So, work to find “the needle” and then fix it! Have a wonderful Wednesday my friend! Be blessed!
“You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48 The Amplified Bible)
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King