Fools Gold

By Susannah Wollman 

I'm on my knees. How do I treat the gift that I've surrendered to God? I've surrendered several things, and I think I know how to do that part. What I don't seem to know is what to do after I've surrendered them. My struggle with my weight is a case in point. Okay, it's His. But I still have to eat.

1 Corinthians 6:12 (Amplified Bible) says: Everything is permissible (allowable and lawful) for me; but not all things are helpful (good for me to do, expedient and profitable when considered with other things). Everything is lawful for me, but I will not become the slave of anything or be brought under its power. So I have some guidelines here. What is profitable for me? What will nourish my body but not fatten it? What will give me pleasure when eating but not hook me into eating more and more? Is ONE piece of fudge okay? Is ONE snack size bag of Baked Lays Potato Chips okay? Are TWO servings of Fat Free Salad Dressing alright? See the problem? Even trying to do what is right has the HUGE potential of taking it right out of God's hands and putting it back in mine. Oh, woe is me!

So now I turn again to the Word.  Proverbs 2:1 (the Message) says: [Make Insight Your Priority] “Good friend, take to heart what I'm telling you; collect my counsels and guard them with your life.  Tune your ears to the word of Wisdom; set your heart on a life of Understanding. That's right—if you make Insight your priority, and won't take no for an answer, searching for it like a prospector panning for gold, like an adventurer on a treasure hunt, Believe me, before you know it Fear-of-God will be yours; you'll have come upon the Knowledge of God.”

I found, with a little bit of research, that there are 4 steps to panning for gold. #1, Find Where the Gold Is. If you know there’s no gold in your stream, find another one! #2, Submersion.  You’ll have to get under the water to find the gold. #3, Panning.  You’re going to have to sift to find what’s valuable; everything you bring up isn’t gold. #4, Separation and Retrieval.  It takes a strong spray to separate the gold from the sand mixed in with it. Just like what we find when we begin searching for His wisdom. The wisdom of the world is surely “fools gold”.

Who will embark upon this journey with me? I am setting off with my mule and my gold-panning tools, and I will search diligently for the precious metal of insight, so that when my Lord and Master returns and asks me what I did with His gift to me, I can say, "Look, Master, You gave me a little bit of insight (to seek Him in my struggle) and I have found Your Wisdom!" And I can't wait to hear him say, "Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into your Master's rest!"