I live by
a whistle. That may sound like a strange thing to say, but if you live in
a small town like Kenmare, you know what it means. Three times a day the
whistle sounds. First at noon then at six pm, then finally the curfews whistle
at 9:30. I know, it's like living in the days of Mayberry RFD, but I
actually like it and find it a comfort.
I do have to confess that when I
lived here before, and my oldest son was a toddler, I use to tell him that the
whistle at 9:30 pm meant he had to be in bed or the police would come and find
him if he was still outside. It worked for a while to get my little night
owl to bed. He was often concerned when we came home late from some out
of town Bible Study that the police were going to come. I assured him that if
he was with his mom and dad, he was fine. Okay, so my one bedtime threat
had some flaws. But it still was an outside governing 'rule' that said,
'you need to be in bed now.' It was a constant; it was consistent, even
when I failed to be.
Some people like to run from any kind
of rules and time order. They may not break the law, but they'll bend the
rules to fit what they want. This is often the approach people have
towards God's Word. They bend it, and form it into what they want it to
say, not necessarily what it says. Or
they just ignore it totally.
But I find God's Word like the
whistle, a constant, a steady, and always there. It's not going to change cause
I want it to blow at three pm instead of six. It's going to stay the
same. It can be my reference point to see if I'm still "on
time."
There are
things that can block you for hearing the whistle at times. Sometimes when you’re working on a job in the
house, and there’s other noise around I can’t hear the whistle. Distractions; things screaming louder than
the whistle. Things in our life can be
that way too. We let the cares of this
world, sound louder than God’s Word.
They’re not bad things, they’re just the everyday living, that can get
so loud that they drown out the Word of God speaking into our life. We can’t hear any more through the busyness
of life, or the pursuit of other things.
Sometimes
when I’m down in my basement, I can’t hear the whistle blow. The rock walls are
just too thick. So too in life, the
walls we put up, keep us from hearing God’s Word speak into our life.
But then
there are times, when I’m quietly working in my office, and I hear the whistle
blow, and it reminds me what time it is, and where I’m at in my day. So too, with God, when we get quiet and hear
His Word, it reminds us of where we are in life, and gives us the guidance we
need to carry on. For His Word is a light to my path.
I've decided my life will be way more 'on
time' if I live by that whistle. In other words; living by His Word.
Jesus, the same, yesterday, today and forever. He's my whistle!
Got to go, the whistle just blew
telling me it’s time to be in bed.