Yesterday, I went out to the pool to do the usual maintenance and was stopped in my tracks. I walked along the edge of the pool, staring into a turquoise, murky mess with skimmers clogged with leaves. It’s summer. What in the world?
I could not see the bottom of the pool. It had rained the day before with two heavy downpours accompanied by strong winds. I was seeing the results. The chemicals in the pool hadn’t been able to compensate for the detritus that the rain had brought. I had my work cut out for me.
On another front, I had been dealing with a situation that was complex and needed a quick resolution if a large, unexpected expense was to be avoided. In my eagerness to restore equilibrium I could only see what was apparent to anyone. There needed to be a change and quickly. I could only see one resolution. The one of my own making.
I learned two things {again} from those examples given to me yesterday.
1. There are times I have to address an issue immediately when the solution is obvious.
2. There are times when I have to sit, be still, turn it over and let the Lord handle it.
He gives us a brain, He gives us ability, and He gives us the proper tools. It’s what we do with these that can make all the difference.
In the first instance I took the most likely action that would restore the pool to its usual state of sparkling blue clarity; trusting that the mixture of the chemical treatment and physically addressing the removal of leaves, etc. would quickly resolve the murk.
On the second issue, I spent the entire day turning possibilities over and over in my head. I tried to reach the likeliest outcomes from every angle I could perceive and the damage control that would be required to minimize the expense that would be incurred in each instance. My minimalist conversation with the Lord was one-sided and rather short.
“Lord, how in the world can You provide something so good and take away a portion of that provision at the same time?”
I think you can see where I’m going with this. It goes back to the one word that keeps staring back at me when I look at my blog. Surrender.
The murky pool was the object lesson. The one thing was showing me what I needed for the other. There are times when we cannot see clearly; the whole picture is murky and complex. On the surface, we see a little, but the deeper we go the more difficult it becomes. The solution becomes more elusive.
“The Worst Case Scenario” kept my thoughts occupied. Instead of turning to God and laying out my case to Him and trusting Him for the best solution I kept wanting to do something. I didn’t want to wait. I wanted it wrapped up and tied in a bow solved.
What strength have I left, that I should wait and hope? And what is ahead of me, that I should be patient? Job 6:11
Then He did something that brought my consuming thoughts to an abrupt halt by resolving the issue that was really out of my hands from the beginning.
This morning, I am fully amazed, not at His provision, but at my dullness and density. Like looking at the murky water and not seeing the bottom, I could not see the solution, but He could.
It was His action that was needed to take care of the problem-not my dithering about. I was not able to change one thing about that situation. His grand resolution showed me that my self-reliance interferes with my ability to surrender.
The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still. Exodus 14:14
Again.