A Big Mess

It was worse than I thought. The torrential downpour had made a mess of our creek and pond. It wasn't unusual for debris from upstream to clog the pipes draining into our pond. But this time, hundreds of tree limbs and logs filled the creek, forming an impenetrable dam. Where to begin the clean up process?

The more limbs and leaf debris I removed, the angrier I became. Clearly, someone who lived upstream had put their 'junk' pile too close to the creek and the heavy rain had carried it into the water and swept it downstream to end up on our property. Ugh! What a big mess! The kind of mess that would take all day to clean up.

The process was painfully slow. Remove all the debris from the creek, load it into a cart on our lawn mower, and finally dispose of the leaf litter, limbs, and logs on the other side of our property. I had plenty of time to think. Time to reflect on how grateful I am that the Lord cleans up my 'messes.'

You know the kind I'm talking about.

That critical spirit. 

The selfish attitude. 

The feelings of pride. 

All 'messes' that need attention. 'Messes' that I'm often oblivious to. But when the storms of life come, my 'messes' come to the surface, and I realize I'm in need of help.

As I humble myself and turn to my Heavenly Father, He's faithful to use His Word to clean up each 'mess' I offer Him. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," (1 John 1:9; KJV). Now that's a comforting promise!

His Word has much to say about my critical spirit.  "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye," (Matthew 7:3-5). As I agree with the truth of God's Word, and submit to Him, He enables me to examine my life and helps me take care of my shortcomings, rather than being critical of others.

What about selfishness? God's Word deals with this topic as well, "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others," (Philippians 2:3-4). When this truth makes it to my heart, I can focus on the needs of others.

The Lord hates pride. When I give the Lord His proper place in my life, I view things the way He does, "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate," (Proverbs 8:13). I can see the destructive nature of pride and the mess it creates, "Only by pride cometh contention: but with the well advised is wisdom," (Proverbs 13:10). I understand what happens when I give in to pride, "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall," (Proverbs 16:18).

It doesn't matter what my 'mess' is, when I recognize it and relinquish it to my Father, He cleans me up and restores me!

Are you dealing with a 'mess'? Confess your sin, and allow the Lord to clean you up today!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You for Your willingness to forgive my sins. Help me identify the 'messes' in my life that need to be turned over to You. Forgive me for being critical, selfish, and prideful. Thank You for the truth of Your powerful Word that is able to keep me clean. In Jesus' name, Amen.

*I'm hosting over at Living by Grace today. Come join in the discussion!

Who's Doing the Heavy Lifting?

Heavy rains have taken a toll on our creek and pond. The rain isn't really the problem. It's all the debris from upstream that washed into our creek, that has created the problem. Sizeable tree limbs, significant leaf litter, and sand completely clogged the pipes that run under our driveway into the pond. The churning water had no choice but to flow over the driveway. You guessed it. We were left with a mess!

We had a choice to make. Spend several days digging the debris out by hand, or rent a piece of equipment that could complete the job in a matter of hours. Hmmmm. Days of exhausting manual labor, or hours allowing a piece of equipment to do the job for us? Not a difficult decision. We opted to rent a track hoe.

Operating the track hoe still required work, but was far easier than digging the creek out with shovels. There was no comparison between the amount of sand and debris the bucket could handle in one scoop, and what our small shovels could hold. Thank goodness for a piece of equipment designed to do some heavy lifting!

'Heavy rain' affects my spiritual life as well. Difficulties of all shapes and sizes touch me and those around me. Financial struggles, rebellious children, and death can all wreck havoc in our lives. Fortunately, I don't have to muddle through on my own. I have a choice. Instead of doing things in my own strength, as a believer, I can lean on the power of the Lord. He is well-equipped to help me through any situation, doing the 'heavy lifting' for me.

My tendency is to try to fix situations. The result? I end up exhausted. When I follow the Lord's leading and apply His Word to situations, He provides the solutions and I remain energized. The book of Matthew shares the reason, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light," (Matthew 11:29-30; KJV).

He never intended for me to carry the heavy stuff. In fact, He instructs me to cast all my burdens on Him because He cares about me (1 Peter 5:7). When I'm obedient and get in the yoke with Him, He acts as the track hoe doing the hard work. I can't simply sit back and do nothing, but He gives me the easy part. He doesn't require that I fix any problem on my own.
Look at His amazing credentials: "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding," (Isaiah 40:28). He's everlasting, the Creator of it all, has all wisdom, and he never gets tired! Sounds like Someone I can trust with EVERY ONE of my problems!

As I lay my troubles before Him, His Word assures me, "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength," (Isaiah 40:29). As I wait on Him, instead of burning out, my strength is renewed!

How will you deal with your problems? Do you find yourself trying to fix them on your own? Take the Lord up on His offer - allow Him to do the heavy lifting. You'll be amazed with the outcome and your strength will be renewed!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You that I can cast all my cares on You. You know the struggles I face and never intended for me to fix them on my own. Help me to get into the yoke with You, and allow You to do the heavy lifting. I know I can trust You with the outcome. Thank You for Your promise to renew my strength when I'm obedient to do things according to Your plan! In Jesus' name, Amen.

Clogged 'Pipes'

The project is daunting. Over the years, we've continued to make modifications to our creek and pond in an effort to prevent erosion. In the process, we're hoping to create something beautiful. With the generous rainfall we've had this past year, we've also had to deal with large deposits of sand in our pond that radically change the water flow.

It's not unusual for us to have to remove that irritating sand three times a year. This year we decided on a different strategy. Fix the problem. Sounds like something we should have done years ago, right? Just one small problem. When cost is factored in, I remember why we've preferred to just have the sand removed time after time. But with a graduation party just weeks away, we decided the time was right to make the sacrifice. A catch pond and some huge boulders are part of the solution!

The creek flows under our driveway via two large pipes. As the rains come and the run-off from the adjacent neighborhood fills our creek, sand is deposited in both the creek and the pond. The pipes also fill up with their fair share of the grainy material. I've stared in amazement at the things that pass through the pipes and into our pond: logs, toys, plastic bottles, to name just a few. Eventually, the sand and floating objects get lodged in the pipes, and the water boils madly and spills into another stream designed to relieve any overflow.

As the workers spent hours digging out both creek and pond, they weren't surprised to find that the pipes were completely filled with sand and debris. Little if any water was flowing into the pond, rather it had re-routed itself to the secondary stream. With a bit of trepidation, one of the workers accepted the challenge to crawl into the pipes and remove everything that had obstructed the water flow. Once clear, the water was again able to flow from the creek into the pond.

My heart is a lot like those pipes. It is what allows God's word and the Holy Spirit to move freely between me and my Savior. Little by little, if I'm not careful, over time my heart begins to get clogged with 'debris.' Not surprising when I consider the words of Jeremiah, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV).

It may begin with an attitude - "I can handle this problem, God." I ignore His wisdom. It may continue with a choice - "Too much to do today, I don't have time to read my Bible." The Holy Spirit can't speak to my heart. As the days turn into weeks, the poor decisions compound until I'm completely dry, no longer saturated with the Living Water. The 'debris' in my life has cut off the flow of the "fountain of the water of life" (Revelation 21:6b).

Time to get serious. Time to 'dig out' all that's clogged my heart. With each piece of 'debris' that's confessed and removed, the trickle of Living Water gets stronger. I no longer struggle to take control, I leave my problems in the hands of the One who is in control of it all. I realize my total dependence on His wisdom and make my quiet time a top priority. Not willing to miss anything He has for me. Pride is stifled, humility takes its place. The 'pipes' of my heart have been cleaned and the Living Water is free to flow and bubble over into every aspect of my life.

How are your 'pipes'? Is there a spring of Living Water rising up within you, or has the flow been cut down to a trickle? It's springtime, the perfect time to get busy removing the debris that stands between you and the living God who loves you and desires the best for you!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, Thank You that You desire to lead, guide and direct me. Forgive me for the 'debris' that I've allowed to clog my heart. Help me to have a restored relationship with You, that I can point others to the Fount of Living Waters. Amen.