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Listen while you read: "Since Jesus Came Into My Heart"1 (Lyrics) |
Proverbs 14:30 – A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones. (NIV)
Whenever I walked up to the main house in the morning to look after my granddaughters while my daughter went to work, I always put small treats in my pocket. There were two hard, green spearmint candies — one for Ade, who is the older child, and one for me — and two gummy treats for Lindy, the younger, who was not yet old enough to have hard candies, in case she inadvertently swallowed one and choked.
Lindy always accepted her gummy candies, but often pointed at the green candies, inquiring, by her look, if she could have one. She longed for the day when she, like Ade, would be old enough to have a green candy, and until such a time, a hint of jealousy was always present.
According to the dictionary, to be jealous is to have a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck, or a desire to have a quality, possession, or other desirable attribute belonging to someone else. Lindy certainly exemplified this!
Finally, the day did come when Lindy was deemed old enough to have her first green candy. She was triumphant as she popped it into her mouth, only to discover, to her profound disappointment, that she didn't like it! After longing for and waiting and being jealous over the fact that she didn't get a green candy like Ade, it wasn't even something that satisfied her when she got it.
How often do we do the same thing? We allow jealousy over any number of things to steal our peace and satisfaction. Instead of being happy with what God has blessed us with, we waste time and energy longing for something that we perceive to be better or different, greater or more worthy. How often, if we have been fortunate to attain what we think we want, do we, like Lindy, end up feeling disappointed and crestfallen?
God knows our hearts. He knows every single thing about us, and He knows what is best for us and why it is best for us. So, let's not waste time and energy on being jealous. Let's not even let a hint of it grab hold of us and steal even a tiny iota of our peace. Rather, may we choose to devote our time and energy to praise Him for what we do have and thus experience the peace that such an exercise of faith and trust grants to us.
Prayer: Lord God, we thank You so much that You know exactly what is best for each one of us. May we choose to rest in this and thus embrace the inner peace that such trust and thankfulness brings. In Christ's name, we ask. Amen.
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Tuesday, May 30, 2023 – In Cuba — Ask the Lord to show each pastor how their church should be reaching out to their community to share the gospel and how to help those who are in the most desperate circumstances. Pray for those who are discipling new Christians, helping them to learn to trust and obey their Saviour. Pray these new Christians learn to make prayer and obedience to Christ a priority.
A Difficult Situation update: "Update May 29, 2023. Thank you for all your prayers. Please continue to pray for both S, and J."
Great reminder, thanks and blessings, Lynne!
Thank you, Lynne, for sharing this encouraging devotional with us. Blessings.
Morning, Lynne,
I feel as if I know your granddaughters and you…and that is a blessing. Thank you for your words this morning.
What a powerful message in its sweet simplicity! I am a visual learner, so will remember this lovely devotional and share it often.
Thank you my sister-in-Christ.
Hi Lynne
Thank you for God’s word this morning. The words really made me think about some of the deep down cravings and why me, Lord questionings.
Hi Lynne,
An awesome Devotional today, thanks for your talent in writing . Keep them coming.
Blessings to you and your family.
(Ontario)
This devotion is so very true! Thank you for reminding me that God knows best.
I hear that B.C. has a heat wave right now. Hope you have some cool shade, too.
Thanks again, Lynne, for your devotions.
(ON)
Lynne, this was exactly what I needed today. How good God is to gently point out the futility of a feeling that had crept into my being. Your excellent depiction of elemental envy spoke clearly.
Thanks for your skill and faithfulness.
Thank you, Lynne, for another story about Ade and Lindy. I can picture those green candies; it seems children don’t like that flavour very much. How true, that when we finally get the thing we’ve been longing for, it doesn’t satisfy as we imagined it would.
Blessings on your day!
Oh Lynne thank you so much for another of your very special and encouraging devotional writings. Yes it is absolutely true that our loving Lord always has the best answer and solution to whatever we encounter in life. He most certainly deserves our trust and thankfulness. Blessings for these writings you do.
Lynn, thanks for your devotionals. My wife and I were in Skagway last week on a long delayed cruise. I was checking the onboard mapping of the area and realized how far north Atlin is in BC and relatively close to where we were visiting. What absolutely beautiful land that we visited, that I am sure would be similar to your area.
Thanks again,
(ON)
Thank you, Lynne. This statement is so true:
We allow jealousy over any number of things to steal our peace and satisfaction. Instead of being happy with what God has blessed us with, we waste time and energy longing for something that we perceive to be better or different, greater or more worthy.
and this is the answer:
Rather, may we choose to devote our time and energy to praise Him for what we do have and thus experience the peace that such an exercise of faith and trust grants to us.
Good morning Lynne,
I find it interesting that the candy is green and the subject is jealousy because of the phrase “green with envy”. I am not sure where this phrase came from and why it exists, but it fits this story well.
I also knew that Lindy might not like that green candy when I read it was spearmint. I know I would choose the gummy bears.
Of course, neither of these things are the point of the devotional. I definitely have had my share of being jealous over my lifetime. It is interesting for me that on its own I found it disappears with age. Earlier I would have to work on it and tell myself what a waste of time and use my gratitude list. With age, it has greatly decreased. Not to say it isn’t there sometimes, but not in the way it was before.
Lynne, thanks for reminding us what is important in our lives using a great example from your life.
May you enjoy your day. Blessings.
Hello Lynne. Guilty as charged.
I remember a time when I was like Lindy. My brother won the lotto. I so tried to be happy for him. The rest of us are God-fearing Christians. I remember all of us thinking he could have shared a bit with his siblings and his wife’s siblings, but not one cent. This windfall was God’s grace. We were all a bit disappointed.
I cannot lie, I was envious. I had raised my children and struggled at times to make ends meet, but we managed.
There was my brother with his amazing home, cars, the list goes on. Sadly, he squandered it all. Today he no longer has those things. The good Lord giveth and the good Lord taketh away.
My envy quickly turned to pity when I saw how quickly he was depleting his big win.
I am thankful and grateful to the Lord for all he has given me. My children are grown now and I have a lovely but modest home and am living a beautiful retired life. I am so ashamed of how I felt at the time.
Thank you Lynne for your amazing testimonials. I hope Lindy has since returned to soft candies and is enjoying them. I love soft candies too!
Blessings dear friend.
Life is often not sweet – Trust in the Lord and we will overcome.
Hello Lynne,
Your devotional spoke to me (again!) It was a good encouragement to stay that course in an area where I’ve denied myself peace far too much in my life. God knows what’s best for us, and I praise Him for that.
Blessings.