May 9 -- "The Monkey god"

May 9 – “The Monkey god” Where is God in all of this? Has God abandoned us in this disease ridden world? Questions like these are popping up all over the place, and often in our heads. It is a scary thought to think that God has left us alone to fend for ourselves, in a situation we know we can’t handle by ourselves. Jesus knows the feeling. On the cross he felt so alone that he cried out, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” Yet, a short time later, as death drew near, he was able to regain his spiritual balance and make this confession of faith in God’s presence: “Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit.” Know with full assurance: God has not and never will abandon you. God is ALWAYS with you. You are ALWAYS safe in God’s hands, and because of that FACT, we can rest in God’s deep peace, no matter what we are facing. I’d like to share an ancient tale with you. It’s about a meeting one day between God and a odd little creature of earth called the monkey-god. This monkey-god was impudent, ludicrous and also ingenious and very vain and boastful. These qualifications became apparent as soon as he and God came face to face, because the very first thing he tries to do is to prove that he, the monkey-god, is just as powerful as God himself, if not indeed more so. In order to demonstrate this he sets about performing a number of quite astonishing tricks. As he is performing them, God sits polite, but unmoved and giving no particular sign of being impressed. So finally, when he is plainly at his wits' end, the monkey-god plays his trump card, which consists of taking one enormous leap into the air and disappearing from sight completely. He is gone for five centuries, but eventually he comes back again, and stands around eager for God to ask him where he had been. But God says nothing at all. So the monkey-god tells him anyway, explains that he has just come back from the outermost limits of the universe and implies that this is a journey that even God should find reason to admire. Then he stands around a while longer, hoping that God will ask him what he saw there. But again there is no sound except for the sound of his own rather rapid breathing. Again he is forced to answer the question that has not been asked. He explains in some detail how, when he reached the outermost limits of the universe, he saw there five huge granite pillars which extended up and up until the tops of them were lost in the clouds. And what does God think of that! he asks, looking up into God's great, silent face. And this time God does answer, but not in words. Instead of saying anything, God simply raises his hand and holds it up there before the monkey-god's eyes. And as the monkey-god looks at it, his attention is drawn to God's fingers, and as he gazes at them, he sees them not as fingers but as five huge granite pillars which extend up and up until the tops of them are lost in the clouds. --The monkey-god learns -- even his greatest efforts take place within the hand of God. Isaiah 41:10 reads: “Do not fear, for I am with you, do not be afraid, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you. I will uphold you in my victorious right hand.” Live today in the hands of God – rest secure, release all your fears and anxieties and rest in the loving hands of God that will never let you go, or leave you alone. Thanks be to God! ~ Dan