Revolutionary Action
From time to time I come up with ideas for inventions that I think might work and help people in certain ways. Usually, I share those “inventions” with Jessica and then forget about them a few minutes later and never really think of them again (until a few weeks later when I usually have the same idea and tell Jess again forgetting that I had just had the idea a few weeks prior). The other day, I had a few new ideas come to mind and one of them was an idea to help people not get blasted by cold water when they first turn the shower on. Of course we were in America when I came up with this idea because in Haiti the entire shower is a blast of cold water.
Does anyone else struggle with this? You know when you are testing the water as it comes out of the tap, and when it gets warm enough you push the button for the shower and then run to the back of the shower at the same time so that you don’t get that initial blast of cold water left in the pipe. So before I even had the chance to tell Jess my invention, she asked a simple question: “Why don’t you just get the water warmed up and turn on the shower before actually getting into the tub?” This question did 2 things, it immediately rendered my invention useless, and it revolutionized the way I thought I would take showers. I mean, after all of these years, I had perfected the art of running to the back of the shower before the water came out (except on those really early mornings when I just couldn’t move fast enough) but I still did not really like doing it and this was going to change my showering life forever.
Do you know what ended up happening? The next shower I took, I did the exact same thing I had always done. Then the next one, and the one after that, the one after that, and I find myself months later never having acted on this simple idea. In this example, nothing revolutionary would have happened in my life had I followed Jessica’s advice. I guess I would have less chance of slipping and falling in the shower, but my life is pretty much the same never having changed this particular routine. The analogy to our life, however, can be very strong.
What simple action could you take that would revolutionize your life?
We all know of small changes that could completely revolutionize our lives much less the big things that we dream about that could change us. I don’t mean slightly change the course of our lives, but could completely revolutionize everything about who we are and about how we follow Jesus. So what is it that stops us? Why do we know the good things that we should do but refuse to do them? Everyone reading this blog, including myself, has an opportunity every day to do something extraordinary, but instead we get bogged down in everyday living and our routines and forget that we are children of GOD. Do you want to know the one revolutionary action that I have been contemplating lately…
Prayer
Pure and simple crying out to GOD and asking Him to lead me in His Will, change me to become more like Him, and expose the weaknesses in my life for what they are. Why on earth do I think my intelligence and skill is going to accomplish anything when GOD has promised to fight for me. This is not a call to laziness, quite the opposite. This is a call (to myself and to anyone still reading) to more than praying before a meal and before your children go to bed. This is a call to humble ourselves before GOD and ask Him what He wants for our lives. Over the past 20 years we have seen more books written on marriage than any other time in history, more people getting involved in the fight against poverty than ever, Christians standing up for adoption and against abortion, and a more global mindset than we have ever known. At the same time more marriages (Christian and non-Christian) are crumbling, more children are dying and living on the street, more people are living in poverty, and the world seems to be falling away from Christ.
We do not just need more activists, more Christian authors, and more people joining the peace corps. We need a generation to fall on their knees and their faces in prayer for the lost and asking GOD to make their lives matter for His Kingdom. This is the revolutionary action that we need because it is the only action that leads to real change and real power. Remember Orphan Sunday is this Sunday November 12. Join me in a revolutionary action of praying for orphans around the world, praying for how we can get involved in changing their lives, and praying for GOD to move us to even more revolutionary actions…