First, do I trust God with all of my life, big or small, even the weather? I was reading Psalm 29 this morning and it's David just praising away because God takes care of even the weather. A little thing that we deal with every day, that we don't even really think about because it's nothing that we can do anything about. And yet, God controls it. He decides each day whether it will be sunny or rainy, hot or cold. If He takes care of that, how much more concerned is He of taking care of all the rest of the stuff in my life? How much more capable is He of being worthy of my trust? I need to give Him everything.
Second, am I growing? I was also reading this morning in Mark 4, the account of Jesus calming the sea is in there (which sparked my interest because of the first question), but the majority of the parables in this chapter are about seeds - planting, growing, harvesting. This would normally have been just a passage where I was casually reminded of the faithfulness of God, to cultivate and grow the seeds He plants, to see the harvest come in, to bring more people into His kingdom. Normally.
All I have to say is, "GAH! Mark, why'd you have to go and write that?!" More like shout, really. I'm telling you, it seems like every day something reminds me of growth. And not just the normal growing and learning that is part of my daily walk with the Lord. I'm talking about growing where I'm planted, being where the Lord has placed me and investing my life here where He has me. Using my gifts to further His kingdom, giving my time to serve Him and His purposes.
I don't know why I get so frustrated at that, though. I mean of the many things I have learned about the Lord over the years, one of them is that He's persistant. He pursues me. He comes running to me, pulling me in closer and closer to Him. So when there is something that He wants to tell me, it only makes sense that He would use every opportunity to remind me of it.
I suppose the better question for me to ask then is, "Why hasn't the message gotten through to me yet?"