The Dung Beetle

As I walked the nature trails today, I saw some movement out of the corner of my eye. When I stopped and examined more closely, I saw a black beetle pushing a brown ball more than twice its size. I had heard about dung beetles, but had never seen one in person before. (Yes, there is a bug called “dung beetle.”) And yes, it actually rolls a ball of dung, and the ball is much larger than the beetle.

This poor beetle struggled to push his comparatively huge ball of dung. His back legs skittered all over the place, and he frequently fell. Once he fell, he rolled over quickly and headed right back to pushing his ball of dung.

I watched him struggle for a moment or two, and then continued my walk.

Believe it or not, I couldn’t stop thinking about that dung beetle. I couldn’t help but compare it to people. Obviously, we don’t literally push around balls of dung, but we do metaphorically carry our own dung around.

Think about it. We worry and fret over what might happen tomorrow. We almost make ourselves sick thinking of all the bad things that might happen in our lives. Yep, we roll our own ball of dung.

At other times, we add to our heavy load by griping and complaining. Whatever the weather, we wish it were something else. We don’t like this; we don’t like that. We fail to see the beauty in the simple things around us. We carry, or roll, a heavy burden of grumbling and negativity.

Our ball of dung grows as we add our anger. What someone says or does, or what we think someone else might be thinking makes our blood boil. We carry the burden of our anger with us every day. It weighs us down and saps our energy and our joy.

Like the dung beetle, we spend a lot of time pushing around our dung, carrying our heavy loads.

But God didn’t intend for us to carry heavy burdens; he didn’t intend for us to push around balls of dung. Jesus told us, “For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:30). Yet we gather up our heavy loads, our worries, our complaints, our anger, and whatever other burdens we add to the heavy load.

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to quit rolling around all my collected burdens and give them to Jesus. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:29 & 30).

Invite Him In

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself.
― C.S. Lewis 

In the Dark Places

“At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God’s hand until we learn to hear Him…Watch where God puts you into darkness, and when you are there keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet…When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light.”
― Oswald Chambers

Lord, teach me to lean on you when I’m in a dark place. Give me ears to hear what you long to teach me. Teach me to use my hands and feet to do your bidding, and to use my mouth to tell your story. May I hear the message you want me to share, and may I have the means and the courage to share it.

Be My Guide

I know not the way God leads me, but well do I know my Guide.
― Martin Luther

Lord, sometimes the path ahead is unclear, and I become confused, afraid, or worried. Forgive me for not trusting you to keep my steps on the path, on the way you choose for me. Help me know You well enough to follow, even when I don’t know where the path leads.

The Physician’s Advice

Recently, I had an MRI.  As I lay inside the narrow cylinder, the machine whirred, clanked and peered deep inside my body.  It didn’t care how I appeared on the outside, only on the inside.   After the doctor reads the MRI, he will decide on an appropriate course of action to make me whole again.  It’s up to me to follow the doctor’s orders. 

Just as the doctor looks within the body in order to heal, so God looks deep within his loved ones for diagnosis and healing.  The great Physician doesn’t care how we appear on the outside; his only concern is those sins entrenched in the soul.  God sees deep inside, understanding all our thoughts and sins. 

Once God informs us what sin lies within, he gives us specific actions to remedy our spiritual ailments.  Forgiveness is a common prescription, as is repentance.  Instead of bed rest, the patient may need quiet time alone with God, in His word and in prayer.  Whatever spiritual ailments we possess, God provides the cure.  It is up to us to take our prescriptions and follow his bidding.

Great physician, as you look deep within my soul, keep my mind and heart willing to follow your spiritual advice.

A Work of Art

Many admire the beauty of glass, its colors sparkling with the sun’s light.  Stepping stones decorate gardens, the glass embedded in the stones. Stained-glass windows in churches inspire awe and reverence. 

Anyone who works with glass knows the process of creating these works of art.  After deciding on a pattern, the craftsman scores and breaks the glass, leaving tiny splinters and sharp edges.  After cutting the glass, the artist grinds its edges smooth.  During grinding, powder-fine pieces of glass fly off.  When the pieces are shaped and smoothed, the artist arranges them into a stepping stone or solders them together for a stained-glass window.  After the final project is completed, its beauty is far greater than the original pieces of uncut glass.  With hard work, the glass is transformed into a work of art, matching the image in the artist’s mind long before she broke that first piece.

There is a parallel between the artist cutting and grinding the glass and God forming us into His image, creating our unique stained-glass.  Before God begins crafting us, He sees how the finished product will look—more beautiful than we can ever imagine.  Just as the artist cuts and breaks the glass into the correct shapes, so God shapes us.  Whenever our lives are filled with difficulties, this may be God’s hand at work in us.  Once the pieces of our lives are cut into proper shapes, God grinds them smooth. Cutting and grinding may not be pleasant, but God, our designer and artist, will complete the work He has begun.  The longer He works in our lives, the more we resemble His image.  The more we yield to His touch, the more His light shines through us.  Someday all the jagged edges of our lives will be smoothed by God’s touch; someday He will shape us into His perfect work of art, allowing His love to softly glow through the colors of our lives.

Father, thank you for the work you are creating in me.  Even though cutting and grinding may be unpleasant, the end result is well worth it.  Thank you for forming me into your image.

Hebrews 13: 21b “May he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”