Yesterday I saw a couple of our plantation employees working on a jeep that has been out of commission for some length of time. I was delighted to see that they’d been able to get it running again and walked over to congratulate them.
When I arrived they told me that they’d put a new battery in it and had hired a guy to work on the carburetor. The jeep was running and that was a significant improvement, but it was still missing a little. One of them had the hood up and was trying to adjust the carburetor to smooth it out. He would turn it one way and it would sputter and nearly die and then another and it would smooth out.
I’m like that old jeep; I’ve discovered that life can be absolutely wonderful and filled with joy and peace. I’ve likewise seen where it can also be miserable and filled with uneasiness with a feeling of dread and trepidation that something terrible is getting ready to happen at any moment.
I’ve learned that peace and misery are both directly determined by my relationship with God. When I’m fulfilling God’s purpose for my life, I know peace; when I get off track, I know uneasiness, (if not downright misery).
Sputtering, spitting, popping, gasping, and pooped – That’s how it makes me feel.
I was thinking that similar to that old jeep my life hasn’t been running all that smoothly lately and needs some adjustment too. My battery seems fine and I get up every morning and work hard all day, but I just don’t seem to hit on all cylinders. Something is wrong, but I just can’t seem to put my finger on it. I need to make an adjustment but I just don’t know what it is.
I thought of that old sputtering jeep that would nearly die and how one or two little adjustments just seemed to smooth it right out; however in a minute it would start right back sputtering again. My “shade tree mechanics” mentioned that the automatic choke seemed to be kicking in and out, but neither seemed too certain as to what to do next.
Hmmm . . . I was of no help there. My mechanical knowledge is limited to finding the right key to put in the ignition; beyond that I need to call in someone with specialized knowledge and that was my suggestion to them.
I suppose the same holds true with my getting-back-in-synch-with-the-Lord problem. I need the best for this assignment, and I can’t think of anyone better than God Himself to call upon to help me; therefore I awoke earlier than usual this morning and prayed for a solid hour asking the Lord to help me to find His peace again. I told him that I’m uneasy and I don’t like it and I need His peace in my life and I need it now. And then I asked Him, “So what do I need to do to obtain it?”
The frustrating and maddening thing about my relationship with God is that He doesn’t call a meeting and just tell me what He wants done, or where I’m going wrong. There are so-o-o-o many directions I could go in life and I don’t have the foggiest idea of which one to take. It reminds me of coming to an intersection with four different roads with no signs and no GPS to guide me.
Com’on Lord I need a sign! I need a face to face meeting . . .
Hmmm . . . I suppose I should be careful for what I ask. Old Elijah was shaking like a Chihuahua standing in the frigid snow when the Lord passed him by and I’m sure after that experience much preferred the “small still voice”.
1 Kings 19:12 – The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.
Yikes I wonder why God chose to include this description. I think it’s done in this manner to remind us that we might want to rethink sitting down for a face to face meeting with Almighty God!
I think He aptly makes the same point that he made to the Apostle Paul in that “His grace is sufficient for us”. Though God is fearsome and awesome and the mountains literally flee from His face, He is gentle and loves us like we love our own little babies. He loves us and will direct us as He knows is best for us!
I will sit still and listen for God’s “still small voice” thank you very much.
I will be patient – I will be patient – I will be patient!
I will meditate, pray and ask God to direct my steps.
I think I’ll go deer hunting and hopefully God will find me there in my stand this morning and gently talk to me in whatever mode He prefers and offer advice to me of what I need to do to nip the sputtering in my life in the bud. I hope so . . .
Please pray for me to find my way and importantly that I get back in synch and harmony with my God, I need some rest!
Matt. 11:28
Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.
December 2, 2013 – Click here to listen