The One Principle

Hey, Y'all,

Happy Monday (ahhh, sweet irony... :-)
Today, a short story.

So I'm in Anaheim last night, waiting for the train to take me back to SD after a great day of enjoying the company of friends (family, really) and especially one of my favorite little birthday girls (Stella-Bella!). We'd just gotten done talking in church the day before about reclaiming and redeeming these little "waiting" fragments of time--in line at the grocery store, in traffic, at the train station. So since we're reading James in men's group I gave it a quick gander and then let my mind wander--or, as we learned yesterday (thanks, Chip!) opened up my mind to His prompting as I meditated on the passage. Got to thinking about and praying for some of you, my people, dealing with the stuff you're dealing with.

So the train arrives, and I clamber aboard--long day--and grab a seat on the West side ('course no ocean to be seen 'cause barely a sliver of a new moon, oh well, still, it's the principle of the thing). So the train gets going again and the Lord and I do as well, once again just staring out of the window and mentally meandering through the James 1 stuff again--trials, joy, maturity, baseline lack of wisdom and God's generosity in supplementing it, doubting and not, standing firm versus getting tossed about, and then right back to my people and prayer. Funny, 'cause the very next thought after that prayer was clear as a bell, a quote I hadn't seen in a while but which came to mind with startling clarity (check out John 14:26 for more on that phenomenon--thanks Ellis!). Some of this we've talked about before here, but it's been a while, and the last line is what leapt out at me this time and stuck with me all the way home where I looked it up and started this thought. (Aside: to quote our brother Kirk Franklin: "To all my people in the struggle--here's some pain medicine." Righteous).

Worry is blind and cannot discern the future; but Jesus sees the end from the beginning. In every difficulty He has His way prepared to bring relief.

"No good thing will He withhold from them that walk uprightly" (Psalm 84:11). Our heavenly Father has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing.

Those who accept the one principle of making the service of God supreme, will find perplexities vanish and a plain path before their feet.

(Ministry of Healing p.480)

"Perplexities vanish and a plain path before their feet"...yeah, that sounds like a plan. Seek first...perplexities vanish. Seek first...plain path appears. Now if I can just remember that one little detail--seek first, "accept the one principle..." Anything you're seeking first that isn't "the one principle" or is it just me again? :-)

You've been prayed for today...