Several months ago, I walked into the bathroom and noticed a lizard on the floor beside the toilet. He looked at me. I screamed at him. All in all, it was quite the encounter. Evidently terrified by my shrieks, he scurried off under the bathtub and disappeared somewhere. A few days later, when I went into the bathroom again, my little "friend" was back. We exchanged pleasantries as we had done before, then once again, he disappeared into the unknown. This process continued several more times until one day, he seemed to have gone for good (not that I minded).
Fast forward a couple of months, I needed something out of the bathroom cabinet under the sink. Opening the door, I reached my hand in and then immediately drew it back to my chest with a scream. My lizard "friend" had found his way into the bathroom cabinet and died there. I called Jason to come dispose of him, and after verifying that he was dead, Jason walked off, I assumed to get something with which to dispose of the petrified reptile. But I guess my sweet hubby got sidetracked because he never returned, and I certainly wasn't going to touch the lizard, so I did the next best thing—I closed the door on him and left him in there.
The problem with my actions is that I did not take into account what would happen the next time I needed something out of the bathroom cabinet, which happened last week. As I had done before, I opened the door, reached my hand in and pulled it back with a shriek. I had forgotten all about that crazy lizard. He was literally out of sight and out of mind. Unfortunately, Jason was not available then to dispose of him, and I still haven't worked up enough nerve to touch him, so he's still under the bathroom sink. Bless his heart!
Of course, I couldn't let an experience like this pass without gaining some form of spiritual insight. After all, it's not every day (or even every month) you see a lizard in your bathroom cabinet, so surely there is knowledge to be gained here. Sure enough, the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I view God the same way I viewed the lizard. Out of sight, out of mind. What I mean by that is it is easy to focus on God when I see Him working in my life, but when He is quiet and my prayers seem to go unanswered, it's as if He isn't even there. And when these dark times prolong, I forget God and turn to my own ways. In essence, I adopt the attitude of "If God won't fix it, I will."
My reminder for you today is even when we can't see God working, He is still there. For months, I didn't see the lizard, but he was there. For weeks on end, I never gave him any thought, but his presence remained constant. God has promised He will never leave us, and He does not break His promises. It may not feel like He's with us. It may not seem like He's working. It may not look like He's on our side. But God will never fail us or forsake us, and we can trust in that. My prayer for us is that even when God is out of sight, may He never be out of our thoughts.
Now, would anyone like to volunteer to come remove the lizard from my bathroom cabinet? I'm pretty sure he won't bite!
Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; - Deuteronomy 7:9
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