The Duck Billed Platypus

God's Crazy Ideas

Sometimes I look at my life and I just laugh. I really do. I think, how did I end up as the morning drive DJ on a Catholic radio station, in the 14th largest radio market in the country, with really no radio experience to speak of prior to starting at Spirit FM as an intern? It's ludicrous!

It's God.

Has to be. I don't believe in coincidence or accidents or cosmic happenstance. Divine Providence suits my tastes a little better.

Look at the Duck Billed Platypus. (This is what got my wheels turning by the way, thank you Discovery Channel) Some people call this animal mother natures mistake. One website wrote this about the little guy: "The bizarre appearance of this egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, with some considering it an elaborate fraud."

Duck billed, otter footed, egg laying, FRAUD?!

Well that is not very nice. But I think a lot of us feel like the DBP (Duck Billed Platypus). We feel like God made this cosmic mistake with our lives. Like we should have been something else, or somewhere else, or worst of all, someone else. We feel unequipped, ill-prepared and even like a fraud. But we are wrong.

God has got a special plan for each and every one of us. Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Hello! If he's got a plan for you, that means he has equipped you for the job.

Going back to the DBP, it is widely known as one of the worlds most unique creatures. With tools at it's disposal, most other animals would dream of. Imagine a duck that was venomous or an otter that had a beavers tail? Imagine how much more devastating an animal they would be. I'd never go near a lake again, if it had Viper Ducks! God created you with the same idea in mind!

You have tools at your disposal others could only dream of! Imagine if I could sing, I'd do it all morning long, or if I could dance, or draw, or design or whatever it is that you were created to do for the glory of God. You may feel like an odd, unequipped mess or a person, but you're not. Maybe you just haven't realized what it is God wants you to be doing.

It's simple. A pastor once dropped this nugget on me. Go PLAY.

P is for Pray. You probably could have figured that one out. It is only through Prayer that we will ever know what God wants us to do. Yes, he may give us signs along the way to help us figure out what to do, but it is through prayer that we discern those signs. God wants to be in communication with us (see Jeremiah 29:12-13) and prayer is our way of doing that.

L is for Listen. As we are praying over the course of days, weeks, and even years we must be listening to what God is telling us. We must listen to what He places in our minds and in our hearts and even through other people. We must be on the lookout for the signs and opened doors (and closed ones) that we find along the way. These are all ways that God will speak to us.

A is for Act. As we are Praying and Listening we must also Act. We must take Action. Begin to move in the direction God is leading you. Don't worry that you aren't completely sure what to do. You will continue to get signs and messages from God as you take each step.

Y is for Yearn. All the while you are Praying, Listening, and Acting you must also be Yearning. You must submit yourself to God's will in this process even if His will is not your own. You should be going to Church and reading His Word. If you are not growing closer to God through this process you are not doing it right. In Jeremiah 29:12-13 He tells us to "seek Me with all your heart."

So go play in God's wonderland, you Duck Billed Platypus of a person, you. You just might figure out why God made you so special and unique after all.

Carlos