“All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.” Ephesians 2:3
An idea was recently presented to the church to plant a garden on the property. Someone said, “we could use that old shed in the back to store gardening tools.” I snickered at that statement because… I’m the only one who knows what’s really in there! Now that the garden is planted, I felt a serious call to remedy the shed’s condition. Yesterday was cleanup time!
The first thing I needed to do was grab a wheelbarrow full of tools and pull it out. It was strangely uncooperative! When I got it out and tried to push it, it wanted to go anywhere but straight. The tire had deflated, making where I wanted it to go quite a challenge. After forcing the deflated wheelbarrow out of the way, I surveyed the mess!
That shed hasn’t been used for some time. Having placed a bag of charcoal and some attic insulation in there for storage last year, rats had gotten in and combined the 2 to make several nests. For the life of me I cannot figure how those 2 things even go together! But having read that rabbits love licorice, nothing surprises me! I placed the whole mess in the trash and forced the deflated wheelbarrow back inside.
It’s a FACT… tires need air to roll! Rolling is why they were designed. It’s common sense that deflated tires DON’T roll, which makes the saying, ‘where the rubber meets the road,’ the whole point of my thoughts this morning. Because lately, I haven’t been rolling as well as I was originally designed!
Having been Jesus’ guy for a long time, I KNOW what it is like to be led by God’s eye so that when He looks, I notice and go. I ALSO know the sense when I have to be dragged or forced to figure out what the destination is supposed to be! As a child in the faith, I used to freak out and panic during times of testing, trial or confusion. Now, at least, I can see it for what it is.
Fleshly cravings and desires ALWAYS deflate me. And they don’t have to be BIG air leaks to take me off course. Being under a time constraint to get a bunch of things done has impacted me as much as an evil sin might. I’ve been tired and weary lately. Too many tasks, and not enough time to do them, have forced me off the ‘Joyful Jesus Road.’ And it’s my own doing.
I want rest, easy and non-complicated. And while those benefits are promised to us by taking on Christ’s Yoke, they can easily be disguised as sinful cravings when I am not careful. It takes a deliberate decision to STOP trying to make my own life comfortable with ‘rat-like’ ridiculous thinking and be inflated by the Holy Spirit. Only THEN will I get back on track. It’s cleanup time!
How are YOU rollin’?
