Looking Down

The last thing you would like on a cold winter’s day is to look down and see an empty woodbox. Without wood our fires go out and we will be cold.

But we all have cold, wet and miserable days, you know the ones, when the children are fighting, the husband is tired, you are feeling really ill. The milk get spilt, the dog won’t stop barking and the boss makes you feel like a criminal because that report he wanted yesterday still isn’t finished. Yes, you know the ones; we all have our own version of them. I’m sure that someone along the way will tell you “Look up to Jesus, He will get you through”. Well friend, while that is true, I’m going to tell you to also look down.

I’m thinking about the Israelites, when they ran out of food. What was it that God told them to do? Go out each morning, look down and collect the manner from the ground. (Exodus 16).

I also remember reading a story, years ago, about a mother who had a sick child. The mother needed coal for the fire to keep them warm. She went out each day and by looking down was able to collect enough coal pieces to keep her child warm. When the child recovered she went out to see if she could collect some more, there was not a piece of coal to be found.

Where might we find that wood or coal? For each of us it will be found in a different place: our Bible, a friendly visit, the internet, the laughter of a child or just a few minutes of silence when the dog has stopped barking. God gave us lots of resources to get through any sort of day that life might give us.