OnFire #174 Stuck in the Closet

OnFire Encouragement Letter

Hi Folks:

Less than a week to go until our international student arrives. Jan is close to finishing the painting in the boys’ rooms. Thankfully this is going well. No repeat of last fall’s mismatched paint and scraping process.

We bought the plane tickets for Marks’ Denver trip this week. He will compete again at the Sport Stacking world championships in April.

That’s pretty much the news for this week. Blessings.

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Every Thursday I get up and take one of the boys out for breakfast. Today was Mark’s turn, and as we sat in our favourite donut shop, I could hear a thumping and banging sound. My first impression was that someone was stuck in a closet. Thump, thump, thump. This couldn’t be right, since there aren’t any closets there, but I kept hearing the sound. Is someone stuck in the bathroom? As I looked around, no one else seemed to have noticed. What could it be?

Occasionally the sound started again. Thump, thump, thump. I must admit, I have strange thoughts sometimes. I have a vague memory from my school days when someone crawled into a garbage container, and then others wouldn’t let him out. Hmmm. Could it be? How silly of me to think that someone would be stuck in a garbage can at Tim’s on a busy morning.

What was it? It was the swinging door into the kitchen. I chuckle to myself to remember my weird thoughts. But, I actually thought it sounded like someone stuck in a closet. It is funny to think one thing when the reality is another.

This week we watched a new president being sworn into office in the US. I noticed all the hope there is in this man. Mr. Obama has inspired many and millions showed up for the truly historic day. Indeed, the world noticed and we saw political and military shifts around the world as he took office.

And I found myself thinking weird thoughts again. Can one politician really change things? Will things be any different at the end of four or eight years? I’ve been around long enough to remember lots of empty words and broken promises. The darker side of me is a little cynical.

And then Paul’s words come into mind. “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone __ for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior,...” (1 Timothy 2:1-3*)

That’s my swinging door. The dark side of me wants to think that the political process is a waste of time and that one man really cannot make a difference. But the reality is different from my thoughts. If it were not so, would Paul call us to pray?

Paul calls us to pray especially for “kings and all those in authority.” It is easy to become jaded and cynical, but if we allow this, then we are really saying that no one, not even God, can change things in our world. Is this what we truly believe?

Paul reminds us to put away those dark thoughts and pray because we believe God can change things. All that noise is not someone stuck in a closet at the capital. It is God swinging the doors to make things happen. We need to pray for our leaders.

I hope this helps. Be on fire.

Troy

OnFire is a weekly letter on faith and character written by Troy Dennis. This letter published Jan 22, 2009.  Bible reference taken from the New International Version. To subscribe or reply, email onfireletter@gmail.com. Archives are located at www.onfireletter.com