Don't be like the woodpecker!

I have to laugh every morning because i wake up and first thing head down the stairs to my parents house and what do i hear EVERY morning on my way??? Yes, you may have guessed, none other than a silly woodpecker! :) But this isn't your "average joe" woodpecker, this dude likes to peck on METAL! I just imagine his whole little body vibrating away from there.....every bone jarred....and I wonder every morning why he goes back to that post where there isn't even a dent for all his efforts! This morning as I was chuckling to myself upon the sound of the little woodpecker i began to think....there is a lesson to be learned from our little dude! How often to we go back, time and time again, without thinking, to an issue that we're trying to deal with ourselves instead of giving over to God. It's like a woodpecker pecking away at a metal pole......pointless. We keep going at it in our own strength and we get nowhere.....not even a dent! The Lord has a lovely tree in mind for us to rest in, and a soft wood to make our home in.....why not rely on HIS strength and leave the metal up to Him??

We were in a small fishing village this weekend with our students and it was very humbling for me to see Pastor Guillermo and his wife Carmen EXCITED about a ministry opportunity in a AWFUL place. Many of us would consider there current residence quite rustic, they don't have running water in their whole house yet, and they are one in a few that even have a toilet in there town, and yet compared to this new village, Sahuimaro, El Choyudo is luxurious! Guillermo and his wife are going to take their vacation time in Sahuimaro living in a little hut or tent in a town that doesn't have water or electricity. In a fishing town that is so infested with flies in summer that if you leave any kind of food item alone for a minute it will not only be cover with flies, but with maggots left by the flies! The beaches are in constant motion because of all the maggots in the sand.....boats head for open water just black with flies.....this is a place where no one wants to go, yet Guillermo and Carmen have a PASSION for the people and they are willing to go because God has called them! I don't know about you, but I am humbled....am i willing to go WHEREVER the Lord leads?? He may be calling me to a small task that isn't in any way uncomfortable, but am I doing it or am I being lazy?

So all in all, don't be like the woodpecker who pointlessly pecks away at metal.....even if God's will for your life is uncomfortable, or full of flies.....the Lord has a PURPOSE and PLAN for your life, and you know what? It's going to be AWESOME because He'll not only be with you every step of the way, but He has blessing beyond your wildest dreams waiting for you if you're faithful. :) Guillermo and Carmen know that they're going to be uncomfortable, but they are excited to see what God has in store for them, but especially that little village! They have a love for the people and a desire to reach them with the Gospel! I know that the Lord is going to bless them in a special way for their faithfulness....they are an awesome testimony to me and I hope to you as well as you read this....

"Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few." Matthew 9:37