Lovable Donkey

"For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those 

whose hearts are fully committed to Him." 

2 Chronicles 16:9

Donkey, from the Shrek movies, won my heart with his first words. He's irritating in a fun way, unstoppable in a good way, and simply impossible to ignore.  He's a one hundred dollar bill glued to your shoe. He's chocolate you can't lick off your lips. He was born to reject rejection, and in the end, we're glad he rebounds from Shrek's rebuffs to make us laugh.

On the original Shrek DVD menu screen, Donkey bounces across the screen yelling "Pick me! Pick me!" so that you hardly notice the other enchanted fairy tale characters. His over-the-top exuberance pulls you in and you pick Donkey to watch him in action, yet again.   

Second Chronicles 16:9 implies the Lord is looking for believers like Donkey.  In school, you don't raise your hand, sit in the front desks, or make eye contact with the teacher if you don't want to answer questions.  Churches aren't much different: Wall-huggers and 80 percent of church members stand back and let the other 20 percent make eye contact with a needy world and with the work of the church.  What about when it comes to getting to know and trust God in new ways?  Do we catch His eye and make Him smile with our persistent  "Pick me! Pick me!" or is that me hiding in the back?  

Lord, God, pick me.  Strengthen me and make me useful to You. Pick me to surprise  someone with love, to encourage someone who's about to give up, to shine in a dark place, to keep on when others quit, to lend a hand where it's needed, to ignore the flaws of the ogres in my life, to overlook someone's mistake that costs me more than I wanted to pay.  Even if I don't know You do these things through me, pick me.  

In the Name of Jesus, Your chosen One, Your only Son!