FIXING OUR PROBLEMS
Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths.
I love old nostalgic hunting photos. They bring me back to a simpler time of hunting when we enjoyed the camp and shared in the success with all in camp... we didn't worry about scores or record books. I remember photos from my dad and his dad and others with bucks strapped across the fenders of old cars.
Of the things that the automobile created was the traveling hunter. Hunters would drive to Mackinaw City to catch the ferry to the UP of Michigan. Model A's and Model T's created by Henry Ford changed hunting forever.
Looking into some info on Henry Ford I came across a story about a young man who owned a Model T Ford that had broken down on the side of a road somewhere here in Michigan. This young man seemingly knew a lot about cars so he went to work on his vehicle right on the side of the road. He tried different things and each time he went back to try and crank the engine, it still wouldn't start. Like most of us men, he was a quite stubborn, so instead of looking for help, he continued to try one thing after the other, hoping to figure it out himself. He tried many different things and still nothing worked. His pride and the feeling of, "I can do it on my own", kept him from looking for help. Nothing worked.
After a while a limousine pulled up behind his car. Out stepped an older gentleman who greeted the young man then stood and watched him for a few moments. Finally the old man spoke telling the younger guy to adjust a specific part on the engine.
The young man figured he had tried everything else he could think of, so he might as well give this a shot even though there was no way this old guy could know more about this car than him. So he adjusted the part, got in the car and sure enough, the engine cranked to life. He was surprised and asked the old man, "How did you know what to do?" The old man said, "My name is Henry Ford and I invented this car."
All people, especially men, have such a hard time giving up and allowing anybody else to step in and do the job for us. We all struggle with a level of pride that tells us, "I can do it on my own". It's like a wife in the car telling her husband, "pull over and ask for directions".... Most men can't do that until it's almost too late.
I can speak from personal experience, when we take our own spiritual and emotional repairs on our own we will fail. We make ourselves believe that I can dig myself out of this deep hole... but the more we dig, the deeper we get. It isn't until we give God the control to get us out of the hole we're in that we have freedom in life again.
Philippians 4:13 makes it clear that, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". John 15:5 Explains without a close relationship with God... we have no hope of getting it done on our own... "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
God created each of us and like Henry Ford and the model T, there is no one better to fix what they've created, than the creator. We can waste time and energy trying to fix our spiritual problems or we can give it all to Him and allow His love to bring us back to where He wants us to be.
Allow God to fix what is wrong in our lives.
Help achieve the mission - GIVE today
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