“You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands.” Psalm 119:73 NLT
I have a self-propulsion problem! I was cutting my lawn and got 90% of it done. This is the point where I can sense the finish line. It’s hot and I’m soaked in sweat but… ‘I’m almost done!’ Then, my self propelled lawnmower decided differently… and froze! The engine was running like a top! But the wheels refused to turn! After numerous attempts to get it to work, then KICKING at it… I shut it down and quit.
My last lawnmower pulled this ‘not propelling’ thing too. I had ordered parts and tried to fix it. But it was only temporary. When the ‘self-propulsion’ system failed again I could at least ‘push it’ the old fashioned way. Eventually I just got tired and bought a new one. This model and breakdown is different. The wheels are ‘locked’ and I can’t even PUSH it! It is useless to me.
Speaking to a church member who was going in for serious surgery, I sat down in the empty chair between him and a man awaiting admittance for a hip replacement. We all chatted and joked. Jokes are a good distraction when facing serious stuff. When my guy went into pre-op, I went in with him. Once inside, we got serious in the Word and I prayed… HARD! I could tell that my guy’s motor was running just fine. When leaving, I found the other guy still sitting in the waiting room. So I took a seat beside him… again.
When facing surgery, EVERYONE gets nervous. Having joked before, I just did what I usually do and asked my inevitable question… “So… are you a Jesus guy?” That is a direct and ‘to the point’ question intended to find out what propels someone. His smile faded into a quizzical expression as he said, “I believe in a higher power.” I probed again, “But do you know His NAME?” His face continued downward into a scowl as he replied… “Don’t gimmie that crap… I’m good!” My diagnosis was… he had a self-propulsion’ problem!
When my lawnmower quit running, it would have been great to have its designer standing right there beside me. No doubt, he could have told me what and why HIS mower froze. He could have quickly fixed the problem because, being the designer, he would know what parts had failed. He would NOT have appreciated me pushing and kicking the thing to try to get it moving! But I was alone!
I am designed BY and belong TO… All-mighty God! I was NEVER created to be self-propelled! My inner workings are intricate and complex and it does not take much for me to ‘freeze up’ and stop. It DOES take going to my designer and placing my trouble into HIS hands for diagnosis and repair. My designer requires MY cooperation! Lord.. PLEASE give me the ‘SENSE’ to read and follow your command when I freeze. I do NOT want to be self-propelled.
What propels YOU?
