Friday, October 3, 2003
Friday, October 3, 2003
The young lions suffer want and hunger, but those who seek the LORD lack no
good thing.
The next day the same thing happened again. The man began to praise God for providing for the
fox and said to himself, "I too shall just rest in a corner with full trust in the Lord and he will
provide me with all I need."
He did this for many days, but nothing happened. He almost starved. He was nearly at death's
door when he heard a voice say, "O, you who are in the path of error, open your eyes to the
truth! Follow the example of the tiger and stop imitating the disabled fox." (3) That's good advice
for us. It was Ben Franklin, not the Bible, who said, "God helps those who help themselves."
There's a lot of honest truth there. We are not to depend on God for matters that we can handle
ourselves. We are to acknowledge the unpredictability of life, but we are also to take
responsibility for making something out of our lives--trusting that when we get to the end of our
resources, he will step in and supply what we lack.
(Psalm 34.10
NRSV)
There is an ancient fable about a man walking through the forest who saw a fox that had lost its
legs. He wondered how it lived. Then he saw a tiger come in with game in its mouth. The tiger
had its fill and left the rest of the meat for the fox.
Lord Jesus, thanks for providing for my needs like being my savior. Amen.
