Do you ever feel frightened when you see shadowy things in your bedroom after dark? When I was a little girl I used to think that a monster lived in my bedroom closet, and that if I left the closet door open it would come out and get me after the lights were out. That was silly thinking, but just the same I had a very real fear of that “monster.”
One day I told my secret fear to my Uncle Bill who was visiting us and whom I loved very much. Dear Uncle Bill painted me a very comforting Bible verse in blue and gold letters. It said, “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:88I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)).
Uncle Bill helped me read the words, and I liked the verse very much. Along with the verse, which was painted on a piece of paper, he gave me money to buy a frame so I could hang it on my bedroom wall. Then he left to go back home on the train.
Now little girls seven years old don’t very often have dollars given to them; at least I didn’t. When I saw that money I immediately thought how wonderful it would be to have a new doll. I knew that money would be enough to buy a doll with a nice, soft body and eyes that opened and closed. The more I thought about the doll, the less I wanted a frame for the Bible verse, and the more I wanted the doll. I was very naughty and told my mother I thought it was mean to make me buy a frame when I wanted the doll so much more.
But my mother didn’t agree with me. She insisted that I buy the frame.
I cried and fussed and pouted, but it didn’t make a bit of difference. The verse was framed and hung above my bed. But now, instead of the verse being a comfort to me when I was afraid there was a monster, it only made me angry.
Do you know why? Because I was a naughty and covetous little girl. Do you know what covetous means? It means you want something you shouldn’t have. Or have you ever wanted something that belongs to one of your friends? That’s also the meaning of covetous. God does not want us to be covetous. One of the ten commandments God gave to Moses was, “Thou shalt not covet” (Exodus 20:1717Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbor's. (Exodus 20:17)). God says being covetous is sin. Not only is it sin, but it makes us very unhappy and sometimes angry when we can’t have what we want. And so our sins multiply.
Most of us have been covetous and displeased God with our sin, but He still loves us. He proved how much He loves sinners when He sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to die on Calvary’s cross for us. There the Lord Jesus took the punishment for the sins (including being covetous) of everyone who will accept Him as their very own Saviour. “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)).
I want to tell you too that that verse on my wall has meant more to me than many dolls and has helped me go quietly to sleep quite a few times when otherwise I might not have been able to. Remember what it says: “I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety” (Psalm 4:88I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety. (Psalm 4:8)).
ML-08/27/1995