Daperly Dozing Rapidly Rosen

  As the pre-dawn gray crept upon Parris Island, the young marines slept, snugly tucked beneath the covers after a long day.  Suddenly, in a flurry of noisy activity, the lights inside the barracks came ablaze.   Walking through the rows of bunks, the Drill Instructor shouted, "All right you maggots, up out of them racks!"  All, jumping out of bed, stood at attention, except for one recruit who continued to peacefully sleep.  Much to the dismay of the others, the D.I. in one swift move overturned the bunk, displacing its occupant, while shouting, "That will teach you lard buckets that no one ignores my orders."

 David writes "hide me in the shadow of your wings" in Psalm 17:8 (NIV).  Often, we view the Lord as one who covers us with His care, tucking us warmly in with the blankets of blessings.  Acting as children writing to Santa, we pray, asking that He continue to show His mercy and shower us with blessings.  Our Lord is wonderful in that He does provide for every need of those who put their trust and hope in Him.  Yet,  He wants us to stretch beyond the safety of the shadow of His wings to serve Him, bent to do his will, giving all of ourselves wholeheartedly. 

 Like the young marine,  we often need to be shaken out of a blissful spiritual sleep.  Most often, God awakens us by allowing difficulties to come our way. Psalm 66:10(NIV) says, "For you, O God, tested us;  you refined us like silver."  Silver is refined in a furnace of clay and purified seven times.  In the same way, our spirits, which reside inside of these fragile vessels of clay, are being refined by the fires of a God who longs for us to know Him.

Perhaps you have suffered a setback in your life and are struggling with why this would happen to one who trusts the Lord.  Maybe you are undergoing a difficult set of circumstances now.  Seek out the Lord, not asking Him to remove the circumstances or the pain of past events so that life would be all comfy-cozy again.  Rather, ask Him to help you to endure whatever He has allowed to come your way, that you may become more like Him, eagerly ready to do His will.

 Zech. 13:9 (NIV)

This third I will bring into the fire;

I will refine them like silver

and test them like gold.

They will call on my name

and I will answer them;

I will say, 'They are my people,'

and they will say, 'The Lord is our God.'