Elbow Grease

Back when I was ten years old, we lived in western Washington State. My dad and I used to fish together all the time. But on one certain Saturday it was too rainy (even for Washington State) for us to venture out on the river. So, dad was teaching me the fine art of how to polish my shoes. I was struggling a little bit with getting a good shine on them.

Dad said, “You need to use some elbow grease.” Before he could say anything else, I jumped up and ran down the hall to the closet to find the elbow grease, shouting behind me that I knew where it was. I searched the closet but no elbow grease. I went to mom and dad’s bedroom and looked on the floor where he kept his shoes. No elbow grease. I finally returned dejected and told dad I couldn’t find any elbow grease.

“What do you think elbow grease is son?”

“It’s that clear stuff you put on after the polish, right?”

My dad was struggling to hold back a good laugh. But calmly and gently he told me elbow grease just meant I needed to brush a little harder.

“Why didn’t you tell me that’s what it means?”

“Son, you ran off before I could even say one word.”

So, my question is, “Have you ever found yourself rushing ahead of the Spirit because you think you know exactly what He wants?” I know I have.

Sometimes we are so anxious to show our willingness to please Him that we do not wait for Him to lead or guide us. “I got this!” And off we run. Sometimes we run so fast and far down that road that we get to a point where we are totally confused. “What went wrong?” We ask ourselves. Usually, the problem is we thought He wanted us to do one thing when His purpose was completely different from our idea. The mistake is never His!

Let me give you an example: When I was sixteen our church youth group accompanied our pastor and several other adults to Surinam South America on a mission trip. We kids were so on fire for Christ that we went basically as ambassadors of Jesus. During the trip we were there singing songs on stage at a rally in a stadium. The pastors were running late, and we were out of songs. The interpreter grabbed me from the group and said, “Preach!” So, for twenty minutes the interpreter and I preached Jesus Christ together. By the time the pastors arrived there was already a crowd up front confessing Christ as their savior. I remember it well!

When we got back to the states, at our first church meeting, they had several of us get up and talk about our experiences there. I was one of the kids to speak. I was pretty vague and could only say that I had a lot to think about. Our youth pastor was to speak that night. So, he got up front and told us to bow our heads and he would pray. I leaned forward and put my head on the pew in front of me. That’s the last I remember. Three hours later I woke up from a deep sleep. Nobody knew that I had been asleep. They thought I was praying the whole time.

What I found out later was that the service was stopped so all could help me with what God was calling me to do. The pastor’s wife put her arm around me and asked if God was calling me to the mission field. The elders thought God was calling me to be an evangelist. They were all trying to help me find the “place” where I would fit best. They were able to recognize the fire in me but what they overlooked was my lack of depth and strength of spiritual character. That’s where our focus should always be. When we feel the pull of the Spirit, we rush to serve. But doesn’t the athlete always first train for the contest and the warrior prepare for the battle? Our energies should always be spent on the training and preparation. For me, I was completely unprepared!

What God knew that they didn’t know was that within a year’s time I would run from Him out into the world and get swallowed up by the whole mess. I floundered out there for three plus decades and nearly was destroyed. As Jesus said, “I had built my house on the sand” and was washed away by the torrent of the world.

In today’s Christian society we are eager to find where we fit in God’s plan. What is our ministry? What is our purpose? How can I help? All good intentions. But is good, good enough? Without a relationship with the Trinity as our solid rock to build on, our foundation will be too weak to stand. We must seek Them. This we do by delving into the scriptures to search out God’s ways. They are all explained in His book! In addition, we need to ask the Holy Spirit to teach us those ways and to make them the concrete of our character. If you feel the call of God, then prepare yourself first. Put some elbow grease into it!

One more thing:

To love God and to serve God are not the same thing. To love God means to seek Him out and to learn of His ways and to keep His ways in our heart and to allow the Spirit to develop all of this in our character. To serve is works and can be accomplished with only a little strength of character.

Let me ask you, do you think God wants your love or your service?