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I was trying to get a bumper/brush guard on the front of the four wheeler.  Of course, I didn’t need the included instructions.  I had simply started placing the included nuts and bolts where I thought they should go.  I mean, it couldn’t be that complicated.
 
After fiddlin’ with it (for all you novices, that’s a super-technical term) for much longer than it should have taken me, I finally got the instructions out and began trying to work through the problem from where I was in the process.  It would have been best if I had simply started from the beginning, but I didn’t want to lose the supposed “progress” that I had made.  So, after much more fiddlin’ with no success, I was left scratching my head and thinking, “What in the world is wrong, here?!?”
 
It’s at this point that, if I’m honest, I wanted to strongly heave things as far as I can across the yard (I’m sorry if that troubles you).  I’m not real sure why I thought that would make me feel better, because it would just mean me later searching to retrieve all the bolts and tools and other pieces that I had scattered.  It would also mean me explaining to #3 (my helper that day) the reason for why I was chunking things across the yard in a fit.  I’m glad to report that I didn’t yield to the flesh in that...at least not this time.  Instead, I took everything apart, started at the beginning of the instructions, found my previous error along the way, and finished the job.
 
There was a need for me to recognize there was a problem.
  • I could ignore the problem (not caring that this would be problematic) and just piece things together however I saw fit – but that ultimately wouldn’t work well in the long run.
  • I could also fail to see there was a problem in the first place.  Doing so would probably lead one to think that I’m not very sharp and that someone else needed to install the bumper.
  • I could even deny that there was problem, and pretend that I was successful.  But the solution would never be reached (and the bumper would probably – at least eventually – fall off).
 
But even after recognizing there was a problem, I had to act.
  • Just like in this case, sometimes I recognize the problem, and I act on the problem, but I do so in a way that is not helpful.  I try things that are nonsensical or even things that are proven to be unreliable.
  • It was really important for me to take stock of where I was and figure out what went wrong.  None of this was going to be possible if I simply persisted in the wrong direction – if I didn’t go to the instructions – and if I wasn’t willing to address the issues.
 
What’s the point?
  • Whether it’s in our personal lives or in the life of the church:
    • problems arise
    • reflection must take place (not neglecting to reflect in prayer)
    • solutions sought (from the right place – prayer & God’s Word)
    • and yielding to the Lord and not the flesh must happen for there to be success
  • What we can’t do (whether personally or as a church) is:
    • ignore, deny, or pretend there is no problem
    • not care about the solution (whether because we perceive it doesn’t affect us or because it would involve change)
    • or simply throw a fit (it’s really not a good look)
 
Our God is faithful to provide everything we need – and everyone we need – for everything He commands us to do.  What will you do with the life He has blessed you with?  Will you make much of Jesus and invest in His Kingdom?  Or will you waste the time He has given you, here, focused on that which will never make a positive Kingdom impact?
 
Be friendly to those around you (be reminded of what friendship really means).  Be faithful to the LORD and His ways (and faithful to His Bride:  the Church).  Be focused on your mission and the day that will come when this will be no more and we will be like Him!
 
 
Pastor loves you, church!
Bro. T