Today we were working in the barn, and my dad was trying to tell my little brother how to back the lawnmower. Dad kept trying to tell my little brother how to back it, and my little brother kept insisting his way was better! Dad made my little brother back the lawnmower up the correct way and then asked him “Why is it that I told you what to do and you disobeyed? What I was trying to tell you was the correct way! Why didn’t you listen?”
My little brother responded “well, I thought that I could do it this way. My idea would have worked!”
My dad replied, “No it wouldn’t have. If you would have backed the tractor up that way, you would have run into the trashcan and would have gotten stuck. Don’t ask for help if you’re not willing to listen.”
How many times have we asked God for help in a situation and then told him his solution wasn’t the right one? How many times have we just bluntly ignored him? I know I’ve done it lots of times.
The conversation that went on between my dad and my little brother was a tiny example of how we should obey God. My little brother needed help with something, dad tried to help, but my little brother wouldn’t listen!
The conversation kind of made me think. I imaged myself in prayed with God asking, sometimes begging, for His help. God always helps us through tough situations, and He has given us His word to help us. But many times, well okay, almost all the time, my pride gets in the way. God shows me, He explicitly spells out how to deal with certain things, and yet, I believe my way of dealing with things is better, so I got with it. Like my little brother, my ideas, my ways of dealing with things, never work. I always end up in more of a mess. But God is still there! At the end, after my mess, He’s always there. He’s always there to help pick of the pieces and to help me deal with things the right way.
Elisabeth Elliot is probably one of my favorite people in all of history. I stumbled upon a quote of hers the other day and I absolutely adore it because of the truth and the sin it shows in my life (as crazy as that sounds.) She said, “Do you do as I do sometimes – take my burdens to the Lord and then carry them away again? God gives us one part to do. He doesn’t give us the whole job.” She follows with Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
How many times have we come to this verse in the Bible and said, “Oh Jesus, please just take this... please help me. I can’t do this,” and then walked away still worrying? Or even worse, walk away and try to solve it yourself? I’m not saying we shouldn’t sit back and watch life go by and trust God will do everything. No, I’m saying that we should come to Jesus in prayer, and tell Him about our worries and troubles, and then trust completely that He has them under control.
So many times all of us, just like my little brother Owen, ask God for help with something and then ignore exactly what He says. But see, that’s not what God calls us to do. He calls us to cast our burdens on him. He wants us to tell Him (even though He already knows.) Don’t let your pride get in the way of trusting God and following His plans. Our solutions to our problems may seem like a good idea, but they will always lead to disaster and downfall. “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” Proverbs 16:18. So next time you’re faced with a situation or trial or whatever, remember to lean on God and not yourself. His plan is always better than ours.
So I’ll leave you with this verse from Ephesians:
Ephesians 3:16-19- I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”
Thanks for reading, and God Bless. :)
