July 7 Quote

      "By perseverance the snail reached the ark."  Charles Spurgeon

      Funny how I never really thought about Noah's assignment to gather in all the world's creatures as pertaining to slugs and snails.  I haven't yet seen the new Hollywood version of Noah, but I doubt they spend a lot of time on it either.   We live in a world that doesn't have a whole lot of time for creatures like snails (unless you're trying your hand at gardening).  They are small and inconsequential and even though they might be delicious with garlic butter and white wine, they are just too slow for us to get very excited about.
      One of the hidden truths of scripture is that those who were closest to God, those who were able to do great things on God's behalf--they were almost all part snail.  What I mean to say is that they were perseverant and patient people.  Sarah comes to mind with her long wait for Motherhood.  Joseph seemed to wait and work forever before his strange dreams came true.  It must have seemed as if Saul would be King forever from David's perspective.  And Israel waited something like 400 years for God to send God's Anointed One to His chosen people.  Being strong in the faith goes hand and hand with waiting on the Lord.  The trick is to keep busy doing whatever we can--in the best way we can--while God puts the pieces in place or until the time is just right.
      Snail-like persistence is not something any of us aspire to and yet, like the proverbial tortoise, it is the very slow and steady that often win the race.  In a 24/7 instant society it is nice to think that God still works with snails, that they matter to him.  It's incredibly encouraging to remember that no matter how far ahead the people around us might go, our quiet perseverance is one gift God never gets enough of!