I would ask, Father, that Your hand be upon me this day. Speak through me, whether on this keyboard or my mouth, as I interact with others. May You be visible above all. Amen.
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This morning, on my bus route, another vehicle approached me as I slowed down for a stop. I had my amber warning lights on, which meant I was preparing to stop and pick up a student. Usually, I appreciate it when drivers stop several feet back from my stop. It’s safer for my kids. It keeps others back, with an additional visual that others also need to stop.
The problem was that they came to a total stop several feet past my student. It was light enough that my student was clearly visible, and where they stopped, there was an open field to my right and an empty yard to my left. No one was going to pop from behind trees or an empty field. I motioned them to go on so I could pull up and pick up my student.
The driver’s heart and mind were in the right place – they were doing what they were supposed to do by stopping. They weren’t endangering my student, but they were obstructing my progress. I couldn’t get where I needed to because they were in my way.
How often in our spiritual walk with the Lord do we impede the progress that He seeks in our lives and the lives of those around us?
On Instagram the other day, I came across a guy talking about how he prayed for God’s will in his life instead of asking Him what His life was for his will. At least for me, it was a little hard on the ears. I wasn’t quite catching it, but he went on to give an example.
He prays, “God, what is Your will for my career?”
And God replies, “I need you to forgive the guy you’re mad at.”
And the guy fires back, “Woah, woah, woah, I’m talking about my career here.”
And God fires right back, “I know, but I want to talk about your heart.”
He says, “No, I want to talk about how You need to change my circumstances.”
God replied, “No, I want to change you.”
He then gave an example of him and his daughter making a smoothie when they accidentally dropped a fork into the blender. They were so busy putting the things they wanted to put in that they didn’t notice…at first! In their eagerness, they neglected to look inside the blender and see the big ol’ problem in there. So, when they turned it on, the blender went crazy – sparks and noise and smoke! He said it literally blew the fork out the side of the blender!
He then said that it made no difference what all they put in the blender because things weren’t going to turn out right unless they got the fork out.
He then prayed, “God, would You just show me Your plan for my life?”
And God said, “Would you just let My presence invade your plan? Stop trying to get the secret plan in your head and work on getting the ‘fork’ out of your heart.”
God is eager to work in our lives, and sometimes, it would work a lot better if we just get ourselves out of the way. May we pray as Jesus did, “…yet not my will, but yours be done.” Luke 22:42 NIV Amen.
Mar 5th, 2024, Tues, 12:52 pm
