The Teapot
How long will the enemy mock you O God? Will the foe revile your name forever?
Why do you hold back you hand, your right hand?
But you O God are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth.
Psalm 74: 10-11, 13
I do not believe that God does things to hurt us. I do believe He allows temptations, consequences and even disasters. He uses the negative things of this fallen world as tools for our spiritual growth, to give us better understanding of Him, to strengthen us and for many other reasons, most of which I do not understand. I do know that God wastes nothing so even my disappointments and heartbreaks have a purpose.
Several years ago my husband, a self-employed painting contractor, did work for a company who then did not pay. Unfortunately my hubby still had a crew to pay, which he did. In the same span of time we had trouble with two vehicles, not impossible but costly enough to pinch. Then our pool pump died and took our air conditioning unit along for the ride. We were looking at no income, except my little contribution, and disaster upon costly disaster.
One Saturday while my husband was working I was doing some major housecleaning, in the take care of what God has given you vein. This was not just some dusting and mopping, this was major overhaul cleaning, which gave me a bird’s eye view of everything that needed a bit of work in our home. There were a lot of things that needed a little help or refurbishing. Thanks to the grace of God I kept cleaning with the mindset of appreciating what I did have and not focusing on what I didn’t.
Toward the later part of the day I decided to take a tea break. I rinsed out my lovely electric teapot and prepared to make tea. I filled the reservoir with water, placed the tea in the filter and plugged it in only to have the water begin pouring out of the back of the machine. Was that the straw that broke the camel’s back? Not at all! Instead that broken teapot looked like victory to me. I laughed out loud. It was that moment, when you either laugh or at least smile at the ridiculousness, or you give into despair.
I knew in that moment that the enemy’s time was up. God had stayed His righteous right hand. He had allowed Satan to poke, scratch and kick at us but now enough was enough. I made tea the conventional way by boiling water on the stove. I enjoyed that tea while chatting with God, thanking Him for the upturn of events that I knew was coming. That upturn was gradual but not too slow in coming. Our disasters were righted one by one, our finances were repaired to be broken again another day.
That teapot has become quite a symbol for me. When it seems that all around me is muck and mire I wait for the tiny disappointment. Once that comes I know Daddy’s home. I can say to the enemy, “Ooooh, you’re in trouble………….”
God will allow pain, disappointment and even tragedy in this fallen world. We need to respond in faith, ride it out as best we can, seek God and His purpose for our lives. Trust that He will be victorious and wait for the clue that the enemy is running out of schemes.
If God is for us, and He is, (Romans 8:31) no one should dare to be against because in the long run God wins.
Why do you hold back you hand, your right hand?
But you O God are my king from of old; you bring salvation upon the earth.
Psalm 74: 10-11, 13
I do not believe that God does things to hurt us. I do believe He allows temptations, consequences and even disasters. He uses the negative things of this fallen world as tools for our spiritual growth, to give us better understanding of Him, to strengthen us and for many other reasons, most of which I do not understand. I do know that God wastes nothing so even my disappointments and heartbreaks have a purpose.
Several years ago my husband, a self-employed painting contractor, did work for a company who then did not pay. Unfortunately my hubby still had a crew to pay, which he did. In the same span of time we had trouble with two vehicles, not impossible but costly enough to pinch. Then our pool pump died and took our air conditioning unit along for the ride. We were looking at no income, except my little contribution, and disaster upon costly disaster.
One Saturday while my husband was working I was doing some major housecleaning, in the take care of what God has given you vein. This was not just some dusting and mopping, this was major overhaul cleaning, which gave me a bird’s eye view of everything that needed a bit of work in our home. There were a lot of things that needed a little help or refurbishing. Thanks to the grace of God I kept cleaning with the mindset of appreciating what I did have and not focusing on what I didn’t.
Toward the later part of the day I decided to take a tea break. I rinsed out my lovely electric teapot and prepared to make tea. I filled the reservoir with water, placed the tea in the filter and plugged it in only to have the water begin pouring out of the back of the machine. Was that the straw that broke the camel’s back? Not at all! Instead that broken teapot looked like victory to me. I laughed out loud. It was that moment, when you either laugh or at least smile at the ridiculousness, or you give into despair.
I knew in that moment that the enemy’s time was up. God had stayed His righteous right hand. He had allowed Satan to poke, scratch and kick at us but now enough was enough. I made tea the conventional way by boiling water on the stove. I enjoyed that tea while chatting with God, thanking Him for the upturn of events that I knew was coming. That upturn was gradual but not too slow in coming. Our disasters were righted one by one, our finances were repaired to be broken again another day.
That teapot has become quite a symbol for me. When it seems that all around me is muck and mire I wait for the tiny disappointment. Once that comes I know Daddy’s home. I can say to the enemy, “Ooooh, you’re in trouble………….”
God will allow pain, disappointment and even tragedy in this fallen world. We need to respond in faith, ride it out as best we can, seek God and His purpose for our lives. Trust that He will be victorious and wait for the clue that the enemy is running out of schemes.
If God is for us, and He is, (Romans 8:31) no one should dare to be against because in the long run God wins.
Comments
Post a Comment