Makin' It Work

“Sorry am late coming in this morning, but I got stuck behind that school bus again and traffic was congested as per normal.”

“Well, you know, if you left 5 or 10 minutes earlier in the morning you would likely miss both.”

Day two sees the same conversation.  Day three is a bit different as a co-worker explains they had the same problem until they started leaving five minutes earlier in the morning and now they are early enough to actually stop for coffee after they get into town.

Day four.  We are awake and ready in plenty of time but still, we do not leave earlier for no real apparent good reason and yet again, we are late.

We see the issue here.  We know why we are having such problems and what we can easily do to alleviate our frustrations.  Do we do what we know will help us?  No, we don’t and we continue to get ourselves nicely worked up day after day as we complain as we drive in each morning.  But why?  Really, why?

"Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like a man who looks at his face in a mirror and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like." ~ James 1:22-24

It would almost be nice if the above scenario was solely a hands-on, physical issue but it is not.  No, far too often it happens to us in our spiritual lives as well.

We know we are having an issue with whatever.  So, being the good children we are, we turn to our Father and seek what not only the problem is, but also a resolution.  He, being the good Father He is, is more than willing to show us everything we need to know including what we can do (if, in fact it, is something we can do) about said issue.  All done and settled right?  Sometimes, but unfortunately far too often, for no good reason, we simply carry on as before even though we know what will bring us relief.

Perhaps we have been having a rough time as we work through our days and pray for His guidance.  He tells us, through more than one source over the course of a week, that we need to make some real intentional time to spend with Him in the morning just as our day begins.  We even hear the same statement said by a friend who is unaware of our current issues.  Do we make some time – even just 5 minutes – to spend with God just as our day is getting started?  Do we even bother to try and make time as we drive in to work in the morning other than maybe simply praying that we will make it in on time or complaining to Him about everything we can think of?

We do know enough to turn to God when we have something going on in our life that seems either too big for us or is just plain out driving us insane.  So why is it when He answers, that we do not follow His advice?  I mean really, how better a source for advice could there possibly be than the Lord of all creation?  It is not like He does not know what He is talking about or that He has some devious alternative motive in mind or that He does not know exactly (as in better than even we do) what we are going through and what we are capable of doing about it.

May I make a suggestion?  The next time (or current if it so applies) you are having whatever issue or are feeling convicted on whatever grounds, take it to God.  Do not merely take it to Him but ask Him what the issue really is and what, if anything, you can do about it.  And here is the big part:  do it.  Do not just think about it.  Do not just hear it and pack it away as some gem of wisdom you have for a later time to give to someone else.  Actually do it.  You may just find out that He did know what He was talking about and that your life may become just a bit less frustrating.

“Hey Troy, don’t you have something you should be doing right now?”

“Yep, now that you mention it, yes I do.”