Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. Psalm 139:7-10
A few years ago, when I was baking cookies with my mom, there might have been an error in judgement on my part. What is it with me and kitchens? By the look on my dad’s face this was a little concerning for him. He really should’ve been more aware of my limited abilities in a room with four walls and an oven since I am his daughter. Unfortunately for him, I usually can hide it pretty well. My food can be passable, if not downright tasty at times, believe it or not. The smoke gave me away this time.
Mom had a whole lot of cookies she needed to bake, and since my sugar cookies are usually nice and soft, I was going to be her helper. We were making little hearts. That wasn’t my specialty, but how big of a deal could that be? The cookie sheets were really small, and it seemed to be a waste of our time to bake the cookies on only two sheets at a time when four easily fit into the oven. My mom asked me what I thought (her first mistake), and I said we should try it. What could it hurt?
We got the dough from the fridge, rolled it out, made the cute little hearts, put them in the oven, and set the timer. This wasn’t going to take as long as we expected! Then, I opened the oven. Hello smoke! I got the pans and ruined cookies to the sink as my mom ran around opening the windows. Of course, my dad had to make an appearance at this time. Did the smoke detector go off alerting him? I can’t remember. Everything was a little too hazy, but I reassured him everything was under control (ha!) and just a tiny mistake happened on my part. He could go back about his business.
Well, a few lessons got learned that day. If you want pretty, permanent hearts tattooed into your baking sheets, just burn cutout cookies on them. Second, to get your dad moving like an athlete in his prime, act like his kitchen is on fire. Third, overfilling an oven doesn’t allow air to circulate properly and can lead to issues. By the way, after we got our little problem worked out, the cookies turned out delicious; although, I can’t remember Mom asking for my help again…hmmm. As a matter of fact, I think Dad replaced me as the helper out of concern for the safety of all involved.
You see, those cookies got burnt due to lack of air circulation just like I get burnt-out when I don’t have some room to breathe. Do you get like that too? When the schedule is so packed that there isn’t quality time left with your loved ones, or you feel so smothered with everyone else’s needs, hopelessness sets in. That’s dangerous and an alarm should be going off!
We weren’t made to just survive from one activity to another trying to get through a jam-packed schedule. I guarantee those overwhelming times are when the worshipping and praising takes a hit. Recently, a smart man said, “Your provision is in the praise.” When we allow everything and everyone to control our time, the most important things in our lives get pushed aside.
Has God been nudging you to do something that you’ve been putting off because you’re needed elsewhere? I’m sure those other things are important, but are they more important than obeying the One who can take care of all the other stuff? In our superhero complexes we forget that God is Omnipresent (everywhere all the time), Omnipotent (all powerful), and Omniscient (all seeing), but we aren’t.
I believe that if we stop trying to be everything for everyone and start allowing God to take the role that only He’s capable of, we’d breathe again. We aren’t helping anyone when we try to fill a role that we aren’t qualified for. Sure, be quick to take on the jobs that God wants you to. Be His hands and mouth when appropriate, but don’t be trying to step into His job, which only frustrates everyone involved.
I’m challenging you to allow more circulation in your life by letting God take over the superhero role. More will be accomplished and forward progress will become something we can expect rather than dream will happen. Only then will the alarms quiet, the smoke dissipate, and forward momentum circulate again.
