HSBC Coffeebreak

I have planted, Apolos watered: but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that waters; but God that gives the increase.
I Corinthians 3:6 & 7

She was two years old (or should I say "two years bold?") and feeling every second of it. She had entered her room, opened the bottom drawer of her dresser, and flung its contents over her shoulder. It was great fun! So, she did it again... this time, she opened the drawer located above the one she'd just emptied. WHEE! Fling! Yipee Yahoo! Off the items would fly, over her head, up onto shelves, where ever they'd land, it was fun! She began on drawer number three, when her dad walked into her bedroom.

"No, no, no! STOP that! Now you are going to have to pick up all those things you just threw out and put them back."

She put her tiny hands on her hips, turned and faced her 200 pound dad and said with all the authority of a red headed two year old, "Get See-wee-us." (serious) She quickly learned that her dad was indeed "see-wee-us!" He stood there and made her pick up all the items she'd flung over her head and made sure she put them back into the drawers she emptied.

Later on, my husband and I had to go into her room and put back her dresser into an orderly fashion. We wanted our little girl to learn the lesson of hard work of putting things back and cleaning up messes she'd made, but a two year old style of organization wasn't what we'd wanted or needed for the dresser drawers.

Now there are several avenues I could take at this fork in the road for my devotional. I could write of how silly it is for us to deny doing things we know we are supposed to do for our heavenly father. I could write of the values of not doing what "feels fun at the time" only to suffer consequences of picking up messes we made later. However, I think I'll shed light on this angle...I wonder how many of the jobs I do for the Lord resemble the job my two year old did in putting things back into her dresser? She wasn't able to fold neatly, or organize short sleeves in one pile, long sleeves in another. God asks me to obey him. He is indeed serious about that! Just as we were pleased when our daughter chose to obey us, (after realizing how "see-wee-us" we were) I am sure our Father is pleased when we choose to obey him.

Perhaps it is through singing a worship song when our mood isn't yet into it. Does our obedience change the person next to us? Maybe.. maybe not, but it isn't our job to change that person. It's our job to obey, and let God give the increase, or do the changing. Perhaps it's by leading a class or loving our family or treating an undeserving person with more respect than we, in our human nature, believe they deserve. It is our job to obey. Even our best efforts no doubt look messy at best in light of eternity, but God will bless our obedience, and "straighten things out" and reward our efforts. That is his job. He will make things look better when we submit to His ways. We can watch for a bright, uncluttered outlook and count on His increase.

Written by
Melody Foster