Too Busy . . .

So, brainstorming last night, after a time in which such an occurrence would've been most advantageous, even healthy, i came across an interesting verse. In all actuality, what brought me to this particular verse was an 'extra-reading prompt' in a book.
The verse that has becmoe the object of my attention and fascination is Psalm 37:3.

"Trust in the Lord, and do good;
dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness."

I love that. There are various types of poetry in the Bible, and this verse is of a particular type where the first line is supplemented by the second without furthering degrees.
That's focusing on the technical, and nothing technical is ever quite as beautiful as the poetic, so i want to bring out something especially poetic about this verse.

A friend is someone you enjoy the company of, someone you trust, converse with, observe, and admire.
It's not the person you think, "Oh, well maybe this would be better without them."
No, a friend is the person who makes things more pleasant just by having them around, someone you discuss things with and have room in your mind and schedule for. Anything else is not true friendship.
And here, in this verse, the Bible says to befriend faithfulness as if it were an incarnate being, tangible and living.

Wisdom, likewise, is given imagery as a woman crying out in the streets.
Wisdom is the person we all glance at as we walk past, avoid eye contact, and say we wish her the best, all the while secretly having some sort of pity for her.

"Wisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at the entrance of the city gates she speaks..."

That's Proverbs 1:20-21.
To make a correlation, here's a verse from Psalm 24:

"Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in."

Lift up your heads, O gates! You are the gate, lift up your head so that God may enter. We are the visible Body of Christ to the world; it's through us that His glory makes entrance into this world.
Now, at the city gates, wisdom speaks and beckons you to hear her words so that you may be prosperous and safe. For your good, and at the entrance of the city gates no less.

She cries aloud in the street; she is on the street where you walk, where you live, the path on which you travel daily.
Where you carry out errands, work, shop, she is shouting, here at the markets.
At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; wherever we are, she is at the center of it, trying to be noticed, crying out for your attention, but it's a loud street.
She is trying to speak to every thought that comes into your head by being stationed at the entrance of the city gates, the head of the street, the markets . . .
In everything, Wisdom is trying to make herself known to you.

Here we have two virtues, wisdom and faithfulness, being presented as embodied and living, and with intent.
Two qualities of God that are either offering friendship or else screaming at you to just give mind to her words.
And yet, the streets stay busy and loud, the gates are still being told to lift up their heads, we are still being told to befriend faithfulness, as though these were not commonplace and already accepted among all. On the contrary, Wisdom would not have to raise her voice nor cry out. If we gave due mind, she could whisper and we would listen.
But our streets are yet still noisy.

Proverbs 12:1

I decided to pick a verse from Proverbs at random to study.
Maybe there was something subconscious going on from Sunday's evening service, but i'd already forgot those verse numbers . . .

I chose 12:1.
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid."
That one was mentioned last night.

Whoever loves discipline (or "instruction" in some translations) loves knowledge.
Who doesn't want to be smarter? We all love knowledge. But to become smarter, we have to know where we're wrong. We can't increase in intelligence without having made mistakes. We can't become wise without knowing our foolishness.
To gain knowledge, we have to find out what we know, but more importantly we have to find out what we don't know.
We can't be spoon-fed everything in life; we have to take leaps of faith (faith if not acted on is dead), make displays of independence (or else it does not prove itself), express our individuality (or we fade into the crowd). Then we seek counsel.
We can be instructed beforehand. Honestly, though, you can read and read and read about driving a car. The first time you're in the driver's seat, though, that instruction is out the window. You have to get accustomed to the vehicle, and have an experienced driver there beside you to guide you. And try not to wreck as you learn not as much from what they say but from what you feel. They can say how things work for them, but they are not you.

But here's where it gets hard.
Correction.
It's easy to tell someone how to do something they don't know how to do.
How easy is it to be told how to do something you're unfamiliar with? Or how about something you already know how to do?
Not as easy that way.
What if it's someone pointing out flaws or insufficiencies?
I received some criticism a couple months back that was pretty rough. It chafed me. I wanted nothing more than to rebuke them and say "You know, i've seen and been told of your faults and they outnumber mine," but i refrained. I wish i had out of wisdom or patience or grace or some sort of fruit of the spirit. But no. I was tired and couldn't think of how to eloquently (now that word's stuck in my head) word it so as to twist the dagger with as few words as poignant as possible.
The following day, i got home from work and went to writing my letter.
Wrote out about three or four pages of pointing out the flaws of the person who had given me criticism (most of which wasn't even my account but from others). I was furious.
I read back through and realized something.
They were right. At least to some extent. Perhaps even still more than many would suspect.
I hated correction.

I'm still not wise, nor will i ever be in my own words.
But the correction thing; that's gotten much easier in the last few months.
Who it comes from doesn't matter as much as whether or not they're right.

I'm going to list three things my pastor said to do when receiving correction:

• Consider the source; are they qualified, and are they trying to help?
• Ask yourself "is it accurate?" If so, what can i learn, what can i gain, and how can i apply it?
• Take it under advisement and seek counsel from a trusted friend.

Taken For Granted

We can pray and pray and pray with no effect. Maybe to save a friend or family member's life, maybe for financial stability, for a new job, for a relationship, for a new car, etc., and we may get no answer.
God's ears are never closed to the prayers of His children. He hears your cries in the dark of night, He sees your hands raised in surrender, He knows the desires of your heart, He feels the pain you feel . . . And yet He doesn't answer. Why?
He's all powerful and merciful, and He hears every prayer, so why do some go unanswered?

We take for granted He's going to answer because He's merciful and He can.

Do you go up to someone who has thousands of dollars and helped you out before, and say "You know, you gave me $10 before, so can you give me $5 now?" and get upset if they say no? Or would the proper response be to be thankful for the $10 you got in the first place?
The key is with us taking God for granted. We don't see Him as our God, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Hope, our Friend. We see Him as one we can ask and receive from.

We've gotten to where we perceive Him to be a wishing well; throw a penny at it and make a silent wish, and hope for the best.

Instead of being upset about things He hasn't given you, be thankful for the things He's given you with expectation of nothing but thanks in return. And thank Him.

Focus more on thanking Him than making requests, and notice how your perception changes; it becomes easier to concentrate -and stay focused- on good things, reasons to be joyful, and hope in general.

Stop counting unanswered prayers, and start counting blessings you've not had to ask for . . . Like that breath you just took.