Tuesday, January 8, 2008

Wonderous

Ok--so lots of bloggers are showing awesome pictures of birds----I do not have any (yet!!)--but I took these on my walk Saturday and the bird on the right we call the UNGLY DUCKLING--perhaps if you click on the photo and enlarge it , you will be able to see it better. It is not a good picture of him--he moved as I snapped it. There are quite a few of these ugly ones, but they are really neat because they are so friendly and wag their tails at us!

I was reading today, a bit in Yancey's book on pain. He talks about Job and Job is one of my favorite Bible books. It is interesting to think about how God answered Job's questions on his pain---and basically His (God's) answer was to be present with Job and to speak to Him about his glorious power as demonstrated by His creation. He speaks to Him of His creation and how wonderful it is---He asks him such questions as, "Do you know the time the mountain goats give birth? Do you observe the calving of the deer? "etc Yancey puts it this way:

"The message looming behind the splendid poetry reduces down to this: Until you know a little more about running the physical universe, Job, don't tell me how to run the moral universe."

Yancey quotes Buechner on this: "God doesn't explain. He explodes. He asks Job who he thinks he is anyway. He says that to try to explain the kind of thing Job wants explained would be like trying to explain Einstein to a little-neck clam...God doesn't reveal his grand design. He reveals himself."

I like that thought---God's answer was a revelation of Himself and His power and glory to Job. ...and basically Job's response was one of repentance Job 42: 5 "I have heard of Thee by the hearing of the ear;But now my eye sees Thee; 6 Therefore I retract, and I repent in dust and ashes."

So basically, when I am suffering I need to look at who God is and respond to him in trust; I may not understand the whys of it , but I can trust my God. I can ask God to use the suffering for my good and to bring good out of it . I also can know that I will be delivered from this at some time---either in this world or in the next. God's ways are above mine--His ways are past finding out in so many respects. He is God and I, I am but a human with little capacity to understand the infinite apart from the Spirit of God He has given me.

14 comments:

  1. Hi Kim,

    Your post today brings to my mind my favorite Bible verse:

    Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good to those who love the Lord."

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  2. Great post, Kim! I have seen birds like that in the lakes around here. They seem friend but sure are weird looking. LOL
    Hugs,
    Kelli
    P.s. I got the little white birds at Hobby Lobby!

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  3. Thanks for this wonderful post. I will be back to visit you again. So many things in your blog hit and the comment or quote really says so so much about God.

    God doesn't reveal his grand design. He reveals himself."

    You mention me from SA and now living in Scotland - yes the climate change is big and was difficult but there are things that I really enjoy in Scotland and that is the frosty days in Jan or Feb. The freezing fog, the frozen pond with the ducks sitting and waiting for the sun to melt it etc.

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  4. What a great post! :^D

    Thanks so much for visiting at my blog and commenting! Oh and I love all the monkeys you made!! The pictures are too cute!

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  5. Sorry about the bird mixup! I received the little box as a gift almost 7 years ago. It was made by Marjolein Bastin and I found one on ebay!

    http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Birds-on-Box-Marjolein-Bastin-Day-is-a-Gift_W0QQitemZ310013380477QQihZ021QQcategoryZ41148QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

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  6. I like that--God's revelation of Himself, of His character, His sovereignty, and His willingness to have a relationship with us.

    www.heatheragoodman.com

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  7. I love it that God's answer to our pain is not always to heal, but just to be there with us and comfort us. We are like a little clam and we don't understand everything about God, what we need to do is pray to Him and worship Him and to trust Him through our trials and tribulations.

    Great pictures of the birds too!

    ~ Sharon

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  8. P.S. Your sock monkeys are so cute are you selling them? It might make a neat little side job, they are so adorable!

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  9. You asked me what size casserole dish I use for the meatloaf and potatoes, I use a 13x9. You could cut the recipe in half and use a 9x9 too.

    :0) Sharon

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  10. I like that quote about the physical universe and the moral universe. I also think this is why some people feel free to judge God regarding the moral universe... in conceit, they figure they have the physical universe all figured out!

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  11. hello, nice to meet you. did you know that there are 7 of us on blogger who list "moving furniture" as a hobby? just wondering who else is out there!

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  12. I just left a comment on your sock monkey blog.

    Sharon

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  13. yes, we have to just simply trust God to do for us what is best for us... because He loves us and knows what we need and will see to it that he gives us what we need and not necessarily what we want...
    great post!

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  14. a very peaseful scenery... how pretty! I love God's creation in every way...

    Have a marvelous weekend!

    Cielo

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