Don’t Be An Ox
When I first started with CrossFit they spent a long time teaching me how to do the basic Olympic lifts.
I have a solid background when it comes to working out so I was pretty over it and ready to just jump right in. I didn’t particularly like missing out on all the exciting workouts I was seeing others doing but I knew it would be good for me in the long run.
I even learned a couple things and have much better form now and that will help me out and keep my joints happy and prevent usage injuries down the line.
Our spiritual walk is the same way. You will never be so advanced that you don’t need the fundamentals and often times it’s the simple things that create the long-term change.
This tends to go against our natural inclination (I’m speaking to the men here).
When times get tough we men have a way of working to force something to happen.
It doesn’t matter what happens as long as something happens. We know we don’t like where we are and will do anything to change the situation.
Sometimes that works out ok but more often than not… it’s a bad idea.
[shareable]God doesn’t want you to force the solution.[/shareable]
Don’t believe me? Take a look at Abraham and his child with Hagar… or Jacob when he stole the birthright… Joseph when he went around bragging about what was promised to him.
All of these stories took terrible turns because people had a promise from God that they tried to force into existence.
While it works out for us and we get a great lesson to learn from it didn’t go so well for the men who went through the problems their actions created.
God’s not a god of brute force; He’s a god of grace.
It is not our brute force that will enable His grace to flow into our lives.
Stewardship is what enables greater grace.
Ultimately, that is what got these men their promises.
Abraham hand to simply trust God, Jacob had to be broken before he could limp into his promise, Joseph had to learn to steward the prison before he could become the leader he was created to be.
So what is the promise God has given you?
What are the things you’ve done to force it to happen? How’s that working out for you?
Instead of trying to force it… what are the responsibilities you have now and what are the things you can steward better to show God you are ready for that promotion?
An ox sees what it wants and smashes everything in it’s way to get to it. A disciple grows to show God He is trustworthy so that God will honor Him with the promise.
Don’t be an ox.
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