Resignation or Acceptance?

Vance Havner 90x115by Vance Havner

It is the Lord: let him do what seemeth him good. 1 Samuel 3:18

Eli was resigned to the will of God as revealed by Samuel. Resignation is better than rebellion or a stiff-upper-lip Stoicism, but it is not the highest attitude. We acquiesce and resign to the inevitable because we have to! After all, there isn’t much we can do about it.

Resignation may bring a martyr complex and a selfish pride at putting up with whatever comes. Better than all this is acceptance: accept the will of God when adversity comes, learn whatever lessons are in it and believe that it works for our good. That is a wholesome and healthy spirit. Rebellion or a mere endurance of affliction may wreck us. Resignation may make us “proud that we are humble.” Acceptance falls in with God’s plan and purpose and enables us to safely trust, even though we may not fully understand.

Some things, of course, are never meant to be accepted. They are the will of the devil and must be resisted and defeated. But that which cannot be changed may be turned to God’s glory and our good if accepted and transmuted from a burden into a blessing.

by Vance Havner

March 5th, 2013

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Do You Have A Reservation?

Grant Phillips 2 90x115by Grant Phillips

When checking into a hotel, or motel, probably the first question I am asked is, “Do you have a reservation?” I have lost track of the times a hotel or motel reservation was made in my name for either a business trip or vacation, and I have always used a credit card to guarantee the room will be waiting for me in case, I am checking in late for some reason.

A reservation, in simple terms, is simply an arrangement made beforehand or something booked in advance, same thing.

Not everyone makes reservations. Either they don’t have the time, or maybe they feel they can find a room easily enough without one. Maybe they’re free-spirited and just like to travel, not really knowing where they’ll wind up. Whatever the reason, they take a chance and hope it works out, and as far as hotel and motel rooms go, it often does work out just fine. However, when it comes to our eternal destination, there must be a reservation for your “room,” or there will be no room … for you.

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