Life's a Little Like a Lawn Mower Sometimes

Spring is upon us.  Okay, so there is actually a Winter Storm Warning that has crept back into the forecast for today, but the daffodils are blooming and the Bradford Pear trees are beginning to bud.  Along with these signs of spring, come thoughts of gardens producing (or not!), flowers blooming in bright, beautiful colors and patterns in our lawns, and grass...and oh, the grass.  Grass that needs to be cut and lawnmowers that spend more time in the shop than they do on our lawns.  Are you with me?    

Speaking of lawn mowers...

Have you ever thought about the fact that a lawnmower is just a big, hunk of useless metal that takes up space in your back yard, unless it has something to power it?  Intrinsically, it has no power on its own.  You can try to coax it to cut your grass.  You can even slip it a twenty, but it won't budge unless it has something filling the tank.  
   
It's THEN the mower becomes useful.  The engine can be turned over and behold - this big hunk of metal begins to do it's job.  Within a matter of minutes or hours, the mower accomplishes the purpose for which it was created - to cut the grass.

Let's pretend for a moment.  Let's just say that I had company coming over in less than an hour and realize the grass has not been cut.  I hurry outside, grab the lawnmower, pull the cord, the engine roars, and I go on my merry way.  All of the sudden, my mower spits and sputters and the engine quits...reminding me that I forgot to fill the tank with gas.  I go to get the gas can and alas, no more gas and no more time to go get some.  

Being the mechanically brilliant person that I am, I decide that if I add a little oil and water to the gas tank, that should get the engine working enough to finish the yard.  All of you who know anything about motors are shaking your heads in shame right now.  You know that if I add anything else to the tank besides gasoline, I've got real problems.  The engine won't start, and my guests will arrive, unable to see the driveway because of the forest of grass that blocks the view.     

Translate that into our spiritual life.  

II Corinthians says, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us." 

Like it or not, we are the earthen vessels II Corinthians talks about.  We are plain, useless, and powerless.  The "treasure" that we hold within us has nothing to do with us.  It is not our abilities or our talents or our even gifts we desire to give to the Lord.  The "treasure" is the Spirit, Himself.  The "treasure" is the power that works within us to show God to the world...that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.  

Unfortunately, I sometimes have issues with this.  You see, I want to be the power behind the treasure.  I want to "help" God fulfill His plans for me.  I want to "add" something to my tank.  

For example, rather than pray about what I need to do in certain situations, I have a tendency to go ahead and try to fix the problem in my own power.  Rather than sitting and listening to Him tell me what I need to be involved in, I'd rather just jump in with both feet and feel important in my service.   Rather than waiting for an answer to a question I have, I'll push forward, hoping things will work out for the best.  

I will live in, and by my own power, trust my human abilities to fulfill God's purpose and plan for my life...while the whole time adding water and oil to my GAS tank.  My intentions are good, but my energy is soon drained, and I am once again, left feeling very empty.   I was never intended to fulfill God's plan for me.  That's His job.  
 
God said that the excellency of the power was to look like Him, not like us.  So when we try to "help" God, the things we do and accomplish look more like us, than like Him.   
So my advice to you and to me today?  Be the thing you were created to be - a vessel - a clean, empty, useable vessel.  And allow Him to be the power that lives within, does the work, and ultimately gets the glory for the excellence of His power at work in your life. 

Lord, let me be just a vessel today and when I try to take glory for the power that is at work w/in me, forgive and remind and rebuke, if necessary.  Thank You for the power that lies within!