Curious George

“There is nothing new under the sun” Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NIV).

“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the father of the heavenly lights” James 1:17 (NIV).

“Same old same old. The more things change, the more they stay the same.”

Solomon may have chosen those words if he was wrote for today's audience. Looks as if life back in his day wasn't much different than ours. I think there's more here than what appears on the surface.

How do you know if you're under the sun? Look up! You and all earth's inhabitants qualify. What we define as new really isn't that at all. Everything existed somewhere else first outside of this natural realm.

James said the source of new things is not a place, but a who. God's creativity is the womb that produces what we consider innovative and revolutionary.

George Washington Carver was a brilliant scientist committed to helping the farmers in the South. The boll weevil infestation brought an end to the reign of cotton as king. Dr. Carver developed 105 recipes for peanuts including peanut butter. He also devised over 100 products: cosmetics, dyes, plastics, gasoline and nitroglycerin. His findings were never patented, freely available for all to use. His work gave Southern farmers markets for this new alternative crop that ultimately outstripped cotton's popularity and profitability. How did he do it?

Pastor Bill Winston of Living Word Christian Center attended Tuskegee University, founded by Dr. Carver. Pastor Winston states that the doctor's secret of success was simple. Dr. Carver took his bible into to his lab and prayed. I've yet to discover the formulas for peanut butter or nitroglycerin in the bible so how did Dr. Carver get these wonderful inventions?

Dr. Carver knew the author of the Bible, the One who created all things and upholds all things by His word. Seeing the plight of Southern farmers “Curious George” went to the originator of peanuts and tapped His knowledge. Based on what he learned Dr. Carver unlocked the hidden potential of this little legume. Through fellowship with God, Curious George brought practical solutions that changed farming and the economic status of the South. So much for the power of prayer and a personal relationship with God.

How about you? Are you facing a dilemma that appears hopeless? Have you looked at your situation and thought, “There's got to be a better way!”

Go to God and discuss the matter with Him. The Creator of the Universe is never at a loss for solutions but it may take a wild imagination to envision what He tells you. God's not tapped out when it comes to “good and perfect gifts.” Who knows, like George Washington Carver your discovery may save a region, a nation or even the whole world.

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