Our good friends Ed and Renee Carr came for a few days visit while traveling the country in their RV. Ed has background in electrical engineering. The conversation got around to Barb starting to put up Christmas lights (she goes all out so she has to get an early start). That led to talk about extension cords, and that led to talk about running wire and setting boxes in the yard to plug Christmas lights into. I had already checked utility line locations. So, I rented a trencher machine that afternoon and we proceeded to dig trenches. I could not get the machine to stay engaged in the digging mode, so I worked the heavy, cumbersome machine with one hand while holding the lever forward with the other hand to keep the machine digging. I knew there was a better and easier way, but I could not figure it out and I was under a time deadline. I made it work but it was extremely hard to dig the trenches. I was humiliated by my ignorance, but I kept doing it. We had received some instruction on its operation, but either I was not told how to do it or I missed it when it was told. Anyway, I persisted in what I was doing and got the job done with it absolutely wearing me out.
Sometimes we miss God’s provisions and instruction of operation for his way and his power. We get through life, but it is a lot harder and costs us a lot more. The Word says God’s people are destroyed for lack of knowledge, missing out on what they could have had in God’s plan and purpose for their lives (Hosea 4:6). He wants us to be led by his Spirit and power. Jesus’ sacrifice took our sins away for our connection with God. His resurrection from the dead assures us he is alive to impart to us that same Spirit and power of God. It’s all there for us, and it is by hearing of it and believing it and acting on it that we receive his power to incorporate into life and successfully get the job done that God has for us to do. The Bible plainly lays all this out before us. We are to hear his instruction in the Word and learn how to operate God’s powerful machine. Jesus said if we are yoked up with him life is easier (Matthew 11:28-30). With him is forgiveness and freedom from death-dealing sin. There is healing. There are gifts of wisdom and knowledge beyond our own wisdom and knowledge. There are miracles. A supernatural prayer ability is available to all believers for when we don’t know how to pray, and much more (1 Corinthians 12:6-11). But we miss all of this if we are not properly instructed or if we miss the instruction that is given to us. Hear his instruction, receive his power, and operate in full throttle with greater ease in life.
