March 5, 2020 – Swarms of Problems
During the last few months, some countries in Africa and now all the way to Pakistan have been bothered by huge swarms of locusts. They’ve had billions of locusts eating all the plants in the area–in one day a swarm of locusts eat as much as 35,000 people. This is the worst swarming of locusts that Kenya has seen in 70 years. If the locusts eat the crops that are growing, there will be a shortage of food for people. Recently, China offered to send 100,000 ducks to Pakistan to help, since ducks eat locusts, but since Pakistan is very dry, the ducks would end up dying.
One locust is not a problem–pretty much when it’s by itself it’s a grasshopper, which is harmless. But when they form together and swarm, they become a problem.
This is like our bad habits–at first when they happen just once in a while, it doesn’t seem like a problem. Maybe you tell your mom a small lie, like that you washed your hands…but you didn’t. Maybe you sneak a piece of candy, maybe you call your friend a mean name. It doesn’t seem like a big deal, but each little bad habit grows, and soon you’re telling your parents lies all the time, and you don’t even notice you’re doing it. It’s like a swarm of sins. Grasshoppers become locusts, bad habits become sins.
What can you do? Pay attention! Watch what you say, treat people with respect and care, talk to God often. And tell your parents when you’re struggling with something so they can help, or even call you out when you need it.
But you can trust God. He will not let you be tempted more than you can bear. But when you are tempted, God will also give you a way to escape that temptation. Then you will be able to endure it.
1 Corinthians 10:13
Dear Father, help me deal with temptation, forgive me for not paying attention to my sins each day. Thank you for your patience with me. Amen.
March 4, 2020 - One of those Days
