The Beetle and the centipede

Garden creatures teach lesson about faith.

“for as he thinks in his heart, so is he .” (proverbs 23:7)

An old story tells us about a conversation between a centipede and a beetle. They were old friends who spent many days observing and chatting about every creature in the garden. One sunny day, as the centipede went for a stroll in the green grass, the beetle watched her from above, sitting on the bright yellow petals of a beautiful sunflower. The two of them had very different bodies, and suddenly de beetle was curious to know how it felt to have so many legs.

He , himself relied on his fast wings to take him wherever he wanted to go, son he couldn’t imagine depending on a couple of legs to move- let alone one hundred.

He couldn’t contain his curiosity any longer, so he zoomed off, landed on blade of grass right in front of her, and asked her flat out, “Centipede, which of your many legs do you move first when you start to walk?

The centipede was surprised at the question, and as she stopped to think, it suddenly struck her. “ I don’t  know!” As she kept  thinking about and struggled to figure out which leg she moved first, she could no longer walk for the rest of the day…….. Every time , the centipede  thought about that question, her legs would start to get in each other’s way and she’d come to a halt….

This story illustrates very well what happens to many people. Useless questions in their mind cause them to be stuck in their faith. They fail to realize that just as God works with assurance the devil works with doubt.

If we want to receive something from God, we must first do away with our doubts. The Holy Spirit said through James that a man who wavers receives nothing from the Lord (see James 1) . If  we do not learn to reject doubt,  our faith will be useless.

Often, doubts come in the form of a subtle question or suggestion (from de devil) in your mind. For example : “ No one will ever want to marry you,  because you are too old for that.” Or “ Don’t apply for that job, it’s too good for you. You won’t qualify. They surely will give it to someone better qualified than you….” These are just a few examples.

“ The good news is that :

 You  can  choose what to think about ”

You must rebuke your doubts. The dictionary of  “REBUKE” is to reprimand sharply. That’s it !!!

The moment that the doubting comes to your mind, what must you do ? Reprimand it sharply !!!!

In other words, give it no time to sit and rest in your mind, like a farmer chops off wheat stalks with a single blow of his sharp sickle, you must swiftly and sharply cut off doubts from your mind.

…….how to do that ?

Change channels in your mind. You can choose what to think about. Just like you change channels on your TV; when you don’t like what you see, you can focus your mind elsewhere when your current thoughts aren’t doing you any good.

Another good thing to remember is that too much thinking caused the centipede to get stuck. Before the beetle asked her that silly question, she’d never thought about which leg she moved first. Up to that day, she simply walked !

A big enemy of your faith is : THINKING TOO MUCH ABOUT SOMETHING.

Faith , by definition, is not something we fully understand. It’s not a formula or a mathematical equation. It’s an unfathomable power that we have, but we don’t have to understand something before we use or benefit from it. For instance, I don’t understand how airplanes can fly-tons of metal, high in the sky flying at amazing speeds, but I still use them when I need to get from point A to B quickly. Do you understand how satellite television works ? And do you need to, before you can enjoy your favorite show ?

Faith works when you practice it. You don’t have to understand it before using or benefiting from it.

Faith is to be sure you’ll get good results from your actions- but not necessarily in that order. Sometimes, before you feel sure about something, you have to start doing it. Your actions can stir up your faith.

Put on your best suit, polish your shoes, and do up your hair before you go to that job interview. Just dressing and acting like you are the one can give you the confidence you need to do well at the interview.

In this case, actions precede faith.

Tidying  up your study area, ordering your books on the shelves, unflattering your desk, sharpening your pencils, and sitting up in your chair will send to your brain a message: “YOU ARE SMART!!

You are good learner and you pass this exam.”

Again , actions proceed faith. Have you been doing too much thinking and not enough doing ?

Has the beetle got you wondering about which leg to move first ?

You’d better start running…..

       May the Lord our God Bless You …..see you next time