November 16, 2020
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A basketful of eggs and a four-year-old girl. Got any ideas how this might turn out? The little girl was my wife. This little scene played out on the basement stairs of the church her family attended. Her Dad said, "Honey, you should hold Daddy's hand." He wasn't too sure about either his daughter or the eggs she was carrying. As she grabbed onto the stair railing with one hand and gripped the handle of the basket with the other hand, she said, "I'm okay, Daddy." (These are first-borns. Yeah, I know about this.) In an instant, she was tumbling down the steps, head over heels. She had some minor "boo-boos." The eggs - prematurely scrambled.
I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Doing it With Your Daddy."
We smile at a little child's stubborn self-sufficiency, and we miss how much like us that really is. At least from the vantage point of our Heavenly Father. That's why our Father gives us clear instructions on the way to make it and the way to mess it up; the way to get safely where we need to go and the way to break all the eggs.
It's summed up in two of the most quoted verses in the Bible from Proverbs 3:5-6. It could be your life verse and it still might not be the way you live! Our word for today from the Word of God: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."
Trust in Him and not in yourself. Lean on what He shows you and not on what you can figure out by yourself. It could be that you're running full-steam right now, chasing your goal, managing your situation, fixing your problem. But the still, small voice of your Heavenly Father is whispering in your heart, "My child, you should hold My hand."
But you're Mr. or Miss Self-Sufficient, right? You're smart, you're skilled, you're experienced, you're strong, and from God's perspective, you're a control freak. Sure, you want Jesus with you, but you don't really want Him running things. "I can do this, Daddy. I can fix this. I can handle this." Followed soon by the crash, the breakage, and the "boo-boos."
Sure, you're officially, theologically trusting God, but in reality, are you trusting what you can do? In reality, while Jesus is your "Chairman" on the letterhead, in the stuff that really matters, are you really in charge and is Jesus' role really honorary? Let's put it this way: you're driving down the road and you see this hitchhiker by the side of the road. You go against your usual instincts and you pull over to pick him up. As you open the passenger door, you're stunned to see Jesus Himself standing there. You say, "Jesus, this is such an honor. Would you please get in and ride with me?" And He'll say, "No." You'll probably ask, "Why not?" That's when Jesus will say, "Because I don't ride. I drive. You let me know when you're ready for Me to drive."
See, you were never meant to drive. You were never meant to carry all this. That's why there are so many stumbles, so many falls, and so many breaks. Right now your Lord, who won the right to run your life when He gave His life for you on the cross, your Lord is saying it one more time, "Take My hand. Lean on Me. Let Me lead." Don't tell Him, "No, I'm okay, Daddy. I can do it myself." That's only going to lead to a fall.
Don't make another step without grabbing your Father's hand and letting Him lead.