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CREATURE GREAT AND SMALL: SCORPION

By: Steve Negley

Posted: June 30, 2023

Category: Daily Devotional

Luke 11:1-13

11 He was praying in a certain place, and after he had finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” So he said to them, “When you pray, say:

Father,[a] may your name be revered as holy.
May your kingdom come.[
b]
    Give us each day our daily bread.[
c]
    And forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive everyone indebted to us.
And do not bring us to the time of trial.”[
d]

And he said to them, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, for a friend of mine has arrived, and I have nothing to set before him.’ And he answers from within, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been locked, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything out of friendship, at least because of his persistence he will get up and give him whatever he needs.

“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 Is there anyone among you who, if your child asked for[e] a fish, would give a snake instead of a fish? 12 Or if the child asked for an egg, would give a scorpion? 13 If you, then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit[f] to those who ask him!”

I recently spent some time with one of my favorite bug experts (my five-year-old grandson, Noah.) On the day Teresa and I arrived, he had just gotten a new box of giant toy bugs as an early birthday present. One of the prized parts of the collection was a scorpion. With a glee that only little boys can exhibit, he described for us how a scorpion has eight legs, two pinchers, and a stinger on its tail! (He loves toy bugs, but is pretty hesitant when a live spider or beetle happens along.)

Even a five-year-old knows that giving someone a real scorpion, when they had asked for an egg to eat, would be a cruel trick, And Jesus said that our God doesn’t play tricks on us.

We ask and trust, and God is faithful to deliver.

Prayer

God, as your precious child, I am asking today for what I need most in life. Help me to trust that this is exactly what you plan to provide. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.