TIPTOE!

“This little piggy went to market,

This little piggy stayed home,

This little piggy had roast beef,

This little piggy had none,

This little piggy cried “Wee! Wee! Wee!” all the way home.”

 

Okay, Okay!  Contrary to what you may be thinking as you take a first look at today’s blog post… I am actually endeavoring to take a vivid and personal memory of this old-time classic children’s rhyme and turn it into a very adult-life object lesson!  So… do I have your attention?  Okay!

This story’s humble beginnings date back to the leather sandals that my high school sweetheart wore when we first started dating in our senior year.  The footwear was a little unusual to me as the front portion of each sandal that normally has a strap across the full width of the shoe, only had one leather loop that held each of her big toes in place.  Now you may think it weird (and maybe it was…) that a girl’s shoes would attract my attention, but I was enamored with the gal and everything about her caught my attention… including her small feet and tiny little toes.

I always loved to make her laugh and since she wasn’t very ticklish, I had to come up with other unique ways to elicit a happy giggle from her.  So… as her open toed shoes seemed to beckon me on… I came up with the spontaneous singing of “This little Piggy” while I surprised her by gently pulling each of her TOES for each verse of the rhyme… down to the very last line with her smallest TOE - which I wiggled and dramatically sang ♫“And this little piggy cried ‘Wee! Wee! Wee!’ all the way home.”♫

The memory of it makes me smile now as I think about it, because that little song and my corresponding actions ALWAYS sparked a round of laughter from her EVERY TIME I did it… from her teens well into her senior years!  I guess some special things are never meant to grow old!

And so… to the point of today’s blog post… due to that simple children’s rhyme and my ensuing funny experiences with Piper that it elicited…

EVERY TIME I see the word “TOE” or hear it in a conversation… I ALWAYS think back to the heartfelt memories of the way my wife would break into a big smile and laugh from the bottom of her heart… when I sang the silly lyrics and pulled on her TOES!  Therefore, the word, “TOE and the resulting feelings of LOVE, FAITHFULNESS and LAUGHTER all seem to go together for me and have a warm and special place in my life!

So… when I turned to look at my Message Bible’s modern translation of Romans 4:20-21 the other morning, I couldn’t help but to smile and recall “This Little Piggy” and the laughter inducing corresponding actions with my wife.  The Apostle Paul’s teaching here concerns the seemingly impossible promise of a baby that the Lord had made to 100-year-old Abraham and his 90-year-old barren wife Sarah*  And speaking of Abraham, Paul wrote,

“He didn't TIPTOE around God's promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. (But instead,) He plunged into the promise and came up strong and ready for God, sure that God would make good on what He had said.” 

The older more traditional King James Version that we might be more familiar with tells us that Abraham,

“…staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief…”

Vincent’s Word Studies states that the word “staggered is better translated ‘wavered’ and implies a mental struggle.”  While Wurst Word Studies explains it this way, saying,

“Staggered" is diakrinō (in the original Greek), made up of krinō, "to judge" and dia, whose root meaning is "two," thus, "to judge between two," thus, "to vacillate between two opinions or decisions." Abraham did not vacillate between belief and unbelief with respect to His difficulty and the ability of God to meet it. He did not waver…”

Simply put… The TOE-tantalizing message of this post today, is to NEVER GIVE UP on God when He gives you a promise, a vision, a special plan or purpose… no matter how impossible it may seem… but instead… to be BOLD in your faith and not TIPTOE around what God has spoken to you in your heart** and/or through His Word.

And what is the biggest tool that the enemy of our faith will use to distract us from receiving God’s promise?  Thoughts of DOUBT, UNBELIEF and FEAR of failure… and how do we combat these havoc causing, faith stealing lies?  By building our faith with the consistent hearing (and reading) of God’s Word*** and by keeping the promise of God before our eyes and thereby not allow ourselves to entertain,

“Cautiously skeptical questions.”

Simple RIGHT?  Well… actually it is… But it does take personal determination, consistency and dedication!  Our Pastor’s wife once told us that Piper was like a bulldog… that once she put her faith onto something that God had told her through the Word or in her spirit… she bit down into it and NEVER LET IT GO… until she had the answer that she was EXPECTING!

So, even though I would pull on and then let go of Piper’s TOES when I sang “This Little Piggy” you can rest assured that God will never LET GO of you and the promise He has given you… as you grab hold of Him and pull your faith into line with Him and the truth of His Word… until you have your answer… NO MATTER how IMPOSSIBLE it may look!

So… Be BOLD in your FAITH and don’t TIPTOE around!  Expect to receive God’s answer… along with His LOVE, FAITHFULNESS and LAUGHTER… and you’ll get it!

I’m looking at gray skies outside my third story balcony today after a heavy downpour caught me off-guard during my afternoon walk yesterday!  But I’m ready for it today and tomorrow… Have a great weekend… and let me know if you remember the classic Children’s rhyme “This Little PIGGY”… and if you have any special memories with it or any other old Children’s rhymes.

*See Genesis 17-15-21

**The truth or validity of what God speaks to you in your heart, will ALWAYS be confirmed in His Word.  So, it might take a little study on your part to clarify how you believe the Lord is leading you… before you step out.

***Romans 10:17