My finger hurts.

by Lillian Humphries

I woke up the other day and my finger hurt. It didn’t look hurt or bruised but it ached. It was my pointer finger on my left hand. I shrugged it off and went about my business. After doing some laundry and other house hold chores I noticed it was still throbbing. For the life of me I could not remember what I had done to it. I thought about the previous day’s events and couldn’t recall if I had jammed it into
something.
 
Still throbbing a few hours later I took some anti-inflammatory medicine. Later on it felt better, but I kept thinking about it. Just thoughts running through my mind as to what I may have done. Since I am right handed I knew it wasn’t because I used it to much, or did I? 

While I was contemplating the greatness of this world and how my finger contributed to my life, I finally turned to God and said “why is my finger hurting so much today”? This brought to mind the verse in Luke.

Luke 6:42 (ASV)
42 Or how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me cast out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.

I couldn’t remember pointing my finger at others lately but it sure made me stop and think. In the most innocent of words or thoughts we judge others and say look at them, when we haven’t looked at ourselves lately. It is a human trait and we have to be careful. Every now and then it is good to have a reminder to be aware of our thoughts and words.

Amazing how God used that aching finger to bring a lesson to me. Always be on the lookout for God’s lesson of the day.

Have you had a similar experience? Share with me.

Questioning God?

by Lillian Humphries

Have you ever questioned God? I have. I have even been disrespectful to Him. I’m not extremely proud of those moments, but I know they have happened. I have even been known to write Him letters. I wish I had kept those letters.

Some days when life was really getting me down I would turn the world off get myself real comfortable, snugly pajamas, coffee or a diet soda maybe some chocolate, some soft music and then let God have it in my letter. Funny thing about those rants to God, I would always end up writing down all my blessings and wondering what in the world was I complaining about.

Oh this human mind of mine could not comprehend all the blessings God had given me. I could only focus on the one small piece of my life that was not the way I wanted it to be. Instead of saying, this is where God has put me and I better use it for His good, I would sit and complain about what I thought was wrong with my life.

Questioning God is OK in my book. If we don’t question Him then we are not thinking. Now I’m not talking about the questioning of His ability to guide me or His love for me. I’m talking about the understanding of His ways. If I am thinking about God and questioning His ways and trying to understand Him, then my life is focused on God.

Throughout the Bible we have some examples of those that questioned God. Questions that are from a critical heart are different than those with an open heart. 

Open your Bible to hear God speak

Hebrews 11:6 tells us; “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him”

Being inquisitive is part of our makeup and God made us. Look at a child, always questioning and exploring and wondering. We are God’s children no matter how old we are. The question is how your heart is when you are submitting these questions to God. We should have our Bible with us when we question God so we can search for the answers and hear His word talk to us. Then we need to be ready to accept His answer even if it isn’t what we think it should be.

Are you seeking for answers in the right place? Are you willing to hear the answers? Do you want the answers or are you just complaining like I was?