God's Blueprint For Success

2 Timothy 2:15 – Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth. (AMP)

Psalm 119:11 – Your word have I laid up in my heart, that I might not sin against You. (AMP)

For many years after peace was declared following World War II, a massive army of men, women, and teenagers in Britain invaded school buildings on weeknights, between the hours of 7:00 and 9:00 p.m., to attend classes defined as Evening School, which offered a wide range of subjects. As a full-time clerical employee in the London city centre, I wanted to increase my value in the commercial world by adding Pitman shorthand, etc., to my skills.

My journey to Evening School (when making good connections) would take an hour. Two nights a week, I would have a hurried evening meal at home and then go to my school. Shorthand required a lot of homework, in order to learn some of the hieroglyphics by rote, and also to take an hour's dictation, which my mother very kindly took on the duty of giving me. I became tired of this rigid, unrelenting schedule, so I decided to become an Evening School dropout.

This temporary vacation was enjoyed for two weeks, after which I received a note, written on a sheet of lined paper. It was just a paragraph, which began in that lovely Scottish brogue, "Will ye no come back again?" and was signed by the teacher and all the students in the class. I did go back — and achieved my goals. This extended education was to be the foundation for all my office employment — although some methods have changed (e.g. shorthand, but I still occasionally enjoy forming a few outlines). Typing and bookkeeping are still fundamentally the same, though, only with some very modern equipment to speed up the process.

When we consider the result that a note made in one life, how much more will God's Love Letter challenge us as we take time to read it, or perhaps more importantly, as we memorize a verse here or there, allowing it to become an integral part of our Christian life and thought?

Prayer: Our gracious heavenly Father, thank You for precious memories. As we look back upon what would appear to be incidental happenings, which have helped to shape and order our lives, we can see Your blueprint forming a definite plan for our happiness and well-being. Thank You, Father, that nothing is too small in our lives to be of careful interest to You. We thank You for Your care and protection of us moment by moment. We bring this prayer of thanksgiving to Your throne room in the authority of Your Son and our brother, Christ Jesus. Amen.