Doing It Myself

Don't you love dishwashers! I do. Our family spent several years in seminary where we had to wash our dishes by hand. Because of that time, I love my dishwasher.

One day I noticed that my trusty friend was not washing as well as it should. Being the woman of all trades that I am (ha!) I chose to save money and fix it myself. How hard could it be? I took out the trays, but found that I could not access the jets. The door was simply in my way; I needed to take it off. Pulled up and out----ooops! Well it didn't come off but could not be closed. My husband came home to trays on the floor, the dishwasher door frozen in position, and dirty dishes awaiting their anticipated cycle. "What have you done?" exclaimed my husband. Knowing my financial guru, I said, "saving you some money!" He simply shook his head and said, "Please call someone," and walked out of the room.
The next day Tim, the repairman visited and I explained the situation. Tim's word of advice to me was, "Mam, please don't ever try this again!"

Needless to say, I have given up trying to fix major appliances in our home. I had confidence in my own abilities and had pure motives, but I actually made things worse. I think we can apply this to our spiritual life. Many times we set out with good, human ideas and plans but have not consulted our Master. God has a plan for each of us, with specific assignments. We tend to think our ideas are reasonable and will get the job done. But do our ideas bring eternal results? or simply temporary successes?

In John 15:5, Jesus says, "If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." Jesus was speaking literal truth. God sees from all eternity--past, present, and future. He knows all situations that will rise up in our lives and how we will respond. Will we seek him or "fix" the situation ourselves? What are the results when we do things in our own thinking and in our own strength? God is beckoning us to depend on Him, to come to Him for understanding and guidance.

In my own life I see this to be more true than it has ever been. Looking back over some of my past, I see that I made decisions on what I thought was best. Those decisions led me to heartache, sadness, and confusion. The opposite was true in times when I sought God's counsel. He made things happen that I could not have figured into the equation. That is what I find amazing about God. When he allows me to be in a situation that I don't understand He makes a way if I am seeking Him, and will patiently wait. My decisions affect my family and others so I must seek my Lord to gain His perspective for His glory to be seen by many.