Scripture
Our verse for today comes from Acts 7:47, “But Solomon built Him a house.”
Background
Tootsie is a 1982 comedy and love story told through the experiences of a talented yet mostly unsuccessful character actor played by Dustin Hoffman. As the story begins, the audience is subjected to a series of stage auditions by Hoffman’s character, Michael Dorsey. In each one, Dorsey reads a short excerpt from the play at hand and then is essentially cut-off by a voice from the darkened auditorium seats, presumably the voice of the director. On one occasion, Dorsey is thanked but told they are looking for someone older. Next, they were looking for someone younger. When the voice came from the dark saying he was the wrong height, he countered that he could be taller. No, they said, “they were looking for someone shorter.” He said he could be shorter and pulled out the lifts in his shoe. They then said they were looking for someone different, and he said he could be different. Then they said they were looking for somebody else. I don’t know if it’s more difficult to let someone down easy or to be let down easy. Either way, the situation is full of disappointment and heartbreak, magnified by the level of hope and desire within the one being turned away. And these encounters aren’t reserved merely for our professional lives or interpersonal relationships. On the contrary, precisely because we put our hopes and future in the hands of our Lord, our spiritual walk with Jesus can be filled with these elusive peaks and inevitable valleys.
Application
As we long to be and do and strive for that and more, we can and will be met with something far less than what we hoped for. And even more, what we had our eyes on can pass us by and fall to someone else, and that can be more difficult to swallow than we anticipated, especially if we allow ourselves to weigh our qualifications against theirs. As I have grown older, I am more and more convinced that the key word for my life as a child of God is surrender. To the extent that I choose that path, regardless of the situation, my contentment and joy overflow. Surrender is counter to our natural inclination and certainly to the culture around us. But the empty tomb first needed a sacrifice hanging on a tree. If you will surrender to Christ, you will also know His victory.
Charge
As we seek Him today, decide that the next situation will be one you will completely surrender to Almighty God.
Salvation – Eternal Life in Less Than 150 Words
Distributed by – BCWorldview.org
Editor Comment: Our surrendered heart, God desires far more than any structure built by human hands.