Sunday, March 22, 2009

Dribble it, pass it.....we want a basket!!

Have you ever been so caught up and consumed with everything that is going on around you? Getting so pressed down by life that it seems to overwhelm you and you feel like you're only just existing ...instead of living?

It kind of goes back to that age old feeling of standing in the middle of a crowded room screaming, yet not one person even flinches. The fake smile that you've painted on your face to walk around with, but the yearn to tuck away and hide so no one will get wind of your broken places.

However, a wise man once said, "There is no brokenness of heart of which Jesus cannot bind up." Wow. I don't know about you, but that is so incredibly reassuring to me.

There is no brokenness of heart of which Jesus cannot bind up. Just think, everything that we are going through, whether it be bad or good, crazy or calm, sad or happy, the Father will use to shape us into what He has planned for us, so that ultimately we may have the image of our Lord and Savior created in us. There was a passage of scripture that really just ministered to me this weekend. It's Deuteronomy 8:1-5....read closely,


"Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years, to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you."

Those verses just completely touched my heart. And this is why:

My life feels like basketball. (Not that I'm full of hot air either)......but that I am thrown from one place to another... and in between passes there is dribbling. I'm talking about some hardcore bouncing. Going from hand to pavement... from the palm of a hand to the pavement, dribbling up and down. Then a pass.. then dribbling... then a pass... then dribbling.

And over a period of time... we know the basketball will eventually begin to slowly deflate. Then someone has to pump it up again.

If you will "picture" with me for a second...a pair of hands and a basketball. Got it in your head??.......Good.

Imagine the pair of hands being our precious Father in Heaven. And of course the basketball represents us.

Well.. imagine the Father's hands passing the basketball (us) to its intended destination. Then there is dribbling and pounding and ups and downs. Then we are passed again..... Following me here?


Okay... well as the verses in Deuteronomy point out, the Lord instructs us to follow His commands. If He wishes to "pass" us around, He is going to pass us, and it is up to us to not let the other team knock us out of bounds but to stay in line with the primary will of the throw. We are to reach that destination that He intends for us to reach. I don't know about you, but that could seem like ALOT of pressure on a little ole basketball! But there should be no pressure... because with faith we know that the Father will be on the other side of the pass to catch us.

But even when we follow His command.... there is going to be some dribbling, HOWEVER; ya gotta catch the promise!!!!

The promise is... although there is going to be dribbling, He is wanting to see if we will obey. Testing our obedience to Him. He KNOWS that we will deflate a little over time, but He wants to see if we will obey, respect, and honor Him through the deflation and trust that He will be the one to fill us up when we honestly need it. He will cause us to hunger, but then He will feed us with manna. Oh wow, that just gave me chills!!!

And that's not even the end of it. If you will skim back to verse one.... we remember.....should we follow the LORD's commands...the bigger promise is that we will live and increase and will enter and possess the land that was promised to us. Now don't just think eternal life here (we are promised that with professing Christ as Lord... ka baam...that's a done deal)... but with obeying His commands while we're walking out our Christian walk, we are promised abundant living on earth. For the measure you use; it will be measured to you. (In Basketball terms.... we've scored a basket!!!)


If we will just obey and follow and trust.... we know, through the Word of God, that our clothes will not wear out and our feet will not swell.

As overwhelmed as I may get sometimes, I know that if I will just listen, trust, and follow the Lord... my God.... I will get one step closer to the promised land He has intended for my life... and I will experience His great plans for me.

He does His greatest works through people with grateful, trusting hearts.

Love y'all.

Miranda