“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.” 1 Corinthians 4:20
Finding the day to ourselves and with a task to get done, Katie and I decided to tackle the job of digging, pulling, cutting and removing all the roots from a tree we removed from the corner of our patio area. Peaches (a pet name for my wife) wanted new pavers. Peaches is GETTING new pavers. Peaches is digging!
The palm tree wasn’t really tall as much as it was decorative. What it missed in height, it made up for in roots! For the future new pavers not to sink, we were told to “get em ALL out!” So we dug deep! When my shovel hit something different, it required me to go deeper. What I found was an underground conduit, WITH wiring, going…SOMEWHERE! What I uncovered was a mystery that I SHOULD have already expected!
While digging and pulling, the words, “I can’t figure out what this is for,” kept coming out of my mouth. When Katie said, “well, why did you put it there,” I was shocked! She said, “I even helped when you did it and remember you getting mad and cussing when it wasn’t going well!” Yup… that was me! But I don’t remember exactly what it was for OR how and where it connected to the main power! Another shocking conundrum!
As I get older I find that there are LOTS of things I don’t remember. It’s not that I am losing my mind! It’s just that I have had SO many years to do SO many things, I just can’t hold it all in my pea pickin’ brain! I like to THINK I remember the IMPORTANT stuff! But apparently not! NOW….knowing the power source and purpose of this buried electrical wire has become EXTREMELY important!
Jesus Christ, the Creator of the Universe, has laid down principles that ALWAYS work…ALL the time! Like gravity, these ‘power’ principles can be counted on…even MORE than religion! But “TALK” isn’t one of them! If digging through this confusing world of 2021 finds me, at times, flustered and irritable, I should automatically COUNT ON the fact that Jesus Christ has THE ANSWER and that HIS POWER is there…ready and available to be used.
Like that buried conduit and wire, I HAVE the potential for the power to overcome the emotional misgivings of today. The obvious lack of peace, irritability and confusion are simply signs that I have FORGOTTEN Jesus and His Power are there…READY to be used. But it is up to ME to choose to make that connection. Love, Joy, Peace and ALL the other spiritual fruits are there to be had and enjoyed. LACK of them simply proves that “I” have FORGOTTEN my power source.
There’s a benefit to finding that power line, We can use it right where it is, and for our enjoyment, when the new pavers go in. But for today I am going to REMEMBER the lesson of the buried power cable and be joyful. And TRY not to forget that JESUS has ALL the Power I NEED…for today AND for tomorrow!
And THAT’S the shocking truth!
