I was never allowed to feel sorry for myself. Mom could always quote some verse, poem or proverb to fit any situation. “I cried when I had no shoes until I saw a man who had no feet.” (An old Persian Proverb) Hearing things like this made me feel selfish and reminded me to count my blessings. Things could always be worse.
Living and working here at Hosanna House has given me ample reason to think about how incredibly blessed I am. I have a mom who loves me, a roof over my head, a comfortable bed to sleep in and shoes on my feet.
In Matthew 10: 29-30, Jesus is talking about how valuable sparrows are to him. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” God knows when a sparrow falls and that every hair on my head is numbered?! Really?!
Yet I speak with people every day who have spent a lifetime struggling, making poor decisions, and having horrible things done to them. Seems like a contradiction.
Deuteronomy 30:15-30 (NIV) says;
15See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction. 16For I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, and to keep his commands, decrees and laws; then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess.
17But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them, 18I declare to you this day that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live long in the land you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess.
19This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live 20and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years in the land he swore to give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
“I set before you today…” Interesting. Each day that we awake we have a choice to make. Who will I believe today? How will I live today? Who will I love today? Who will I trust today?
My answer? Jesus. I will obey Jesus. I will trust Jesus. I will hold fast to Jesus! These shoes will follow Jesus!