“Say, I am here-

1. By God’s appointment

2. In God’s keeping

3. Under His training

4. For His time.”

– Andew Murray

Well, this is it! This is my life – from now on out! I never dreamed that something of this magnitude would come into my world. Now what do I do? I have memorized Andrew Murray’s solution printed above. A very sound solution. A very Biblical solution. And I agree with him, but what do I do now?

We have several options: (Let’s have some fun.)

(1) You can lie down and make everyone think you’re dead. They would shake their heads and say, “Bless her heart. She just couldn’t handle it!” That’s how an opossum faces the unexpecteds in his life. Have you ever seen one playing dead? They do a real good job of it. So, that’s a choice. (They play dead hanging by their tails in trees, too. Don’t try that.) Just give up and “play dead”. Go AWOL from everything and everyone. Just give up! Don’t even try.

(2) You can run and hide. There are a lot of animals that choose this option. They head for their hiding place, run in as far as they can and play “tickle lock all the way ’round!” Some friends gave us permission to stay at their house in the Texas hill country and we discovered that it was highly populated by armadillos. Esther (she is now in dog heaven) rousted them out as we wandered around in the woods. Those creatures are fast and they had hiding holes everywhere, so poor little Esther had fun chasing but never making contact. I’m glad. I don’t think her eighteen pounds would have been a fair fight with that armor-coated critter. But that’s a popular choice. No one needs to know about your private life. You’re still functioning – running actually! Separate yourself from your friends, isolate yourself. Then say, “Tickle lock all the way around.” Watch movies and eat popcorn – by yourself.

(3) You can raise a big stink about your situation so that people avoid you to keep you from “spraying” them with your constant complaining. That’s the way a skunk takes care of his problems – very effectively. A lot of us do that. “No one knows what I’m going through. I suffer so badly. My doctor says . . .. Did I tell you about my last hospital stay? You just don’t know: – ad infinitum.

(4) Have you ever seen a “spreading adder”? We happened on a whole nest of them one day out in the country. They are big snakes and when they hear you approaching they stand up on their tail and hiss like crazy. But, if you get close enough they collapse and play dead. I think this was my best way. Everyone saw me standing straight and tall, smiling and saying the right words, but should they get close enough to sense the depression surrounding me, I would collapse!

(5) You were probably wondering when Wesley would come on scene. Well, here he is. When something heads for his turf, he stretches himself to his full height (probably fifteen inches), perks up his ears, sticks out his chest (males!) and heads for the culprit, marching very slowly with stiff legs and growling dangerously all the while (snorting every so often). He intimidates most of them – not all of them – but he is a fighter. We were enjoying our walk one day and this creature came bounding out of a yard in front of us. I thought it was a deer! Wes didn’t know what it was, but he assumed his “on guard” stance and that Great Dane decided he would go back to his yard. (Do I have an “On guard” stance?)

That’s’ what we’re supposed to do. Never ever in our own strength but in HIS strength.

You, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (II Timothy 2:1).

For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and a sound mind (self-control) (II Timothy 2:7).

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might (Ephesians 6:10).

So, what do we do now? Lift up our head. Stick out our chest. Suck in our belly. Walk with a very determined gait and this “no nonsense” look on our face. Check the mirror and see just how impressive we are! Then, say, “Okay, Lord. I’m ready! On Guard!”