I now have a new hero, besides Dielli. It is Benaiah son of Jehoiada. Thanks, Mark Batterson, for introducing me to him.
“God wants you to get where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go” (30).
One of the reasons God is great is because nothing is too small for him to pay attention to, not the loss of face of a bride and groom at a party and not a borrowed axe head lost in the river.
–Something we wouldn’t think about. The guy had to borrow an axe head. There weren’t very many of them around or they were expensive or the guy had no money to buy one. Axe heads were something valued. Was this like Jacob’s coat of many colors? Remember the days when three suits of clothing were a huge reward?– Just a thought.
“A request can never be too ridiculous when you’re asking the one who knows no limits” (34).
God is a proud parent who notes every small act of righteousness with pride (36).
“Half of learning is learning. The other half of learning is unlearning” (44). And unlearning is the hard part. God, please give me the insight and strength to present what my students need to know, not only for class, but also for life.
“When we read Scripture, we are recruiting new nerve cells and rewiring neuronal connections. In a sense, we are downloading a new operating system that reconfigures the mind” (46). And that is why I need to read the scripture. Forget whether or not someone 2000 years ago had the opportunity to read it daily. Think about it. I have the chance to hold the book in my hand. Abraham would have wept tears of joy to hold it. Moses would have shouted on the mountaintop to hold it. And I put it on a shelf and say, “Well, they didn’t read it.”
“Unlearning our fears is a process of learning to trust God more and more” (49).
If you’re bored it means you are not doing what God wants you to do (57).
God, facing my fears is not something I do well. I am not fearless and I am not a go-forward kind of person. Somewhere along the line I adopted a fearful attitude. Please help me to be who you want me to be, not who I have made myself. Help me to do what you want me to do, not what I think I should do or can do or ought to do or must do. I want to be someone you are proud of all the time. I don’t know how exactly to be that person, but I want to be her.