“This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.” 1 John 5:14-15

We have a wall fountain at the entryway of our house. It has been there for probably 10 years… which means it has probably been 17, as time flies when I look backwards! Obviously for the fountain to work, there has to be an electrical pump in the water to MAKE it work. As in ALL things earthly, pumps go bad… so I have had to change it out numerous times. It is about a 20-30 minute job… USUALLY!

Even if you are not savvy (why are there 2 v’s in this word?) about things electrical, you are STILL smart enough to know that electric and water do NOT mix. The job requires special connectors and a crimping tool to do it right. I bought the pump, started the process, then could not find my crimping tool. I searched high and low for a couple days, off and on, and then ended up borrowing one. When my 36 year old electrical tester died… I went and bought new one of those too! I was ready!

The job took longer than usual because the wiring is older, and so am I. The crimping tool wasn’t what I was used to so I snapped a connector and had to start again. Making sure the waterproof connections were good, I taped… then taped again… to make sure no water would get in. It was frustrating… but I love my wife and she loves the sound of running water! She was due to be home in about 10 minutes so I filled the fountain, flipped the switch and… nothin’! I was upset!

When I work, I talk to God. Paul says to pray without ceasing… so I do. “OK Lord.. where’s my crimper?” “Tape?” “Think THIS will work, Jesus?” “Sorry I got mad… again!” “PLEASE LORD!” “Where’d I lay my glasses?” “Here we go now, Lord!” “GRRRRRR!” After all that, I discovered the pump was bad from the manufacturer! A 30 minute job became a failure after 3 days…off and on!

Stuff happens.. or sometimes it doesn’t! Teaching a series on Faith, and NOT blaming God for anything, I asked Him a fun question, “Lord… all that work, hope, praying and asking really didn’t go very well. I know that you say to ask and you shall receive… but why did I have SO much trouble?” Later, while still pondering, I faintly heard His answer…” I’m not in the pump business!” I smiled.

Long ago I had learned a lesson that is rarely taught. I had discovered the hard way that asking, then getting, was missing something critical in the middle. The verse today clarifies it.  Do the words, “according to His will” jump out? They should. Because they hold the key to the saving of a LOT of grief.

John 6 tells me that God has a ‘Job’ and a ‘Will!’ And that anything outside of either of those descriptions is extra and does NOT require His attention. While some folks like to throw out that God cares about EVERYTHING that connects to our life, I find that this train of thought is usually just an attempt at getting our own way. Which like my pump… doesn’t always work! God and I are good! 

 Our wall fountain has just become a planter!