God's Monkeys
By Becky Rule

Most every evening at our house, we have what we call a “monkey run.”  No, it isn’t some new exercise program.  It’s a time when each person in our family goes through the house and takes care of their belongings and responsibilities, re-named  “monkeys.”  It makes each of us aware of our own messes, and it saves me from being overwhelmed by carrying around too many of the extra monkeys that seem to gravitate toward the wives and mothers of the world.  But, wives and moms aren’t the only ones who carry “monkeys” that don’t belong to them.  Are you carrying things that aren’t yours? 

I was recently reading a devotional newsletter which shared some thoughts on this topic.  The author was encouraging us to let God be God and to think about our spiritual responsibilities.  It stated, “Define clearly what are your responsibilities and what are His.  It is His responsibility to cause all things to work for good.  Daily provision, being kept from temptation, and comfort all belong to Him….”   As I was reading this, something suddenly “clicked” in me.  I immediately thought of the Lord’s Prayer and saw it very differently.  Here is what I wrote in my journal that day:  “The Lord’s prayer is not only asking for all these things, it is acknowledging all these things are a REALITY!  It is a celebration, not a petition!  It is not  pleading or begging God to answer, but more like recounting  what He does all the time for us.  It is a rejoicing that we have such a GOD!” 

 I then made a feeble attempt to re-write those verses of scripture (Matthew 6:9-13) based on  what He had shown me, during which I discovered that I have a vocabulary that is basically useless!   I felt like a kindergartner in those awkward, clumsy, seemingly hopeless efforts to write the alphabet the first time.   My version is far from being eloquent or  all encompassing, and to God it is probably like one of those drawings or cards we get from our children—the precious and carefully handled ones with scrawlings and misspelled words that have to be interpreted.  I am certainly glad that God can listen to our hearts and isn’t dependent upon our words.  “Our Father, YOU ARE A REMARKABLE GOD!  You are so great, mighty, and powerful that Your will is done in earth just like it is in heaven!  Place makes no difference to You.  Your kingdom is HERE!  Look at all You do!  You provide our bread—every day!  You not only meet all our physical needs, but You provide for our emotional and spiritual and mental needs as well.  You forgive our sins, then You work in us to forgive others.  You show us how futile it is to hold grudges by letting us be  miserable when we do!  You provide a way out when we are tempted, and You deliver us from evil—not only now, but for eternity.”

 Jesus says He makes us free (John 8:36), and we have a God who does more for us than we can comprehend.  Let’s leave God’s monkeys to Him, and be free indeed!