Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read some verses that condemn slothfulness. They tell the sluggard to look at the industrious ant who works hard even though unsupervised and gathers food for the harvest. The sluggard is told to arise out of sleep and get to work! Prov. 6: 6-9 "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, Provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? when wilt thou arise out of thy sleep?"

In the Book of Mormon I read about how the master of the vineyard wept and grieved over his trees that did not bring forth good fruit, in spite of the fact that he'd done everything he could to nourish them. Do you think this might be simmilar to how the Lord feels when He does everything He can to nourish and strenghten us, but we choose to make bad decisions in our lives and bring forth instead "evil fruit." Jacob 5: 40-41, 46-47 "And the wild fruit of the last had overcome that part of the tree which brought forth good fruit, even that the branch had withered away and died. And it came to pass that the Lord of the vineyard wept, and said unto the servant: What could I have done more for my vineyard? And now, behold, notwithstanding all the care which we have taken of my vineyard, the trees thereof have become corrupted, that they bring forth no good fruit ; and these I had hoped to preserve, to have laid up fruit thereof against the season, unto mine own self. But, behold, they have become like unto the wild olive-tree, and they are of no worth but to be hewn down and cast into the fire; and it grieveth me that I should lose them. But what could I have done more in my vineyard? Have I slackened mine hand, that I have not nourished it? Nay, I have nourished it, and I have digged about it, and I have pruned it, and I have dunged it; and I have stretched forth mine hand almost all the day long, and the end draweth nigh. And it grieveth me that I should hew down all the trees of my vineyard, and cast them into the fire that they should be burned. Who is it that has corrupted my vineyard?"

Some verses with a thought booklet liken thirsting for God to a hart who pants after water brooks. Have you every been really thirsty and nothing sounded better than a cool drink of water? Imagine thirsting after God with that same zeal. Do we think of Him day and night, with tears continually because we want to find Him so much? That's how much we should want to find God. It should be the desire of our souls. Ps. 42: 1-3 "As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God? My tears have been my meat day and night, while they continually say unto me, Where is thy God?"