We are to wear the beautiful garb of an humble servant. Simply His child, His servant, His follower, His disciple. Apart from Him we are nothing. And "we are

what we are" ONLY by the grace of God. Nothing is original to us. We are His, and all we have, we have been graciously given. 

I learned something very important from a version of the Bible called the International Children's Bible. It is written in very simple sentences. At the beginning of all of the Epistles, Paul begins with a greeting like "Paul, an apostle of God,...etc. 

Well, this version said simply, "Paul, an apostle...because that is what GOD wanted....." 

And whatever ANY of us are....we simply ARE....."because that is what GOD wanted..." No more, no less. We are who we are, and we "see and hear" what we see and hear. Though we have seen and heard many things, we must ever keep the attitude of Job who "laid his hand over his mouth" Job 40:4 and also Job 42:1-6. 

Those verses always put the fear of God in me, and I just know that the older I become, the less I know. And though I have seen and heard a LOT over the years (especially since my husband died), I feel like Job. Humbled by a broken heart...what do I know? So very little. I do not have "answers" and "explanations"....and any "words" I have that may be wisdom are HIS....never my own. We glorify the Lord, our God. He is beautiful. He is wonderful! He is God! 

A wise person once taught me that the reins on a horse's bridle are used for two things. When the rider loosens his grip on the reins...the horse is allowed to run fast...in release. But when the rider holds the reins tightly or pulls back...that, too, is a valid signal to the horse...of restraint. The Lord does BOTH with us, and it is up to us to interpret the correct signal He is giving...at the correct time. 

He may "release", or He may "restrain"; the call is HIS. Ours is only to move at the movement of HIS HAND. 

"Hide...and watch. Look...and listen. Listen...and learn." Release only when HE releases it. Cover the precious things He has revealed within your life, and allow HIM to "uncover" them as HE wills. 

Looking unto Jesus, 

Sandy