Keys Please

“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:13 NKJV

Passage Reading:  Romans 8:12-30

A lady who had a very important interview entered her car and bowed her head. “Lord, you know how important this job is to me.  I am asking for Your intervention.  Please allow me to get to this office safely and preferably early.  Please direct my paths and my words so that I do not shame myself or You.  Thank You, Father, that You will get me to this interview, that You will be with me during this interview, and that You will bring me home safely.  Amen”  After about thirty minutes, the lady looked up to Heaven and in a rather agitated tone complained, “Now Lord, I have put all of my trust in You and it really appears that we are not going to make my interview.  Please help me arrive at least on time.”  That evening at the dinner table, the lady’s husband asked how the interview had gone.  “Well, I prayed all morning asking the Lord to help me with my interview.  I prayed that He would get me there safely and at least on time.  I prayed that He would give me the right words, and I prayed that He would get me home safely.  And do you know that I never even made it out of the driveway?!  I guess the Lord did not want me to have that job.”  “Honey, did you misplace your keys?”  “My keys?  No, they are still lying on the dresser.”

Thankfully, this story is fictional, yet it rings true for far too many.  As ridiculous as this particular scenario sounds, many of us repeat this same behavior. We expect God to deliver things right into our laps without our exerting any effort at all.  We may love the Lord with all of our hearts and trust Him absolutely, but God does not expect or desire for us to use that as an excuse.

I do not want to confuse anyone here.  I absolutely believe that God is capable of miracles of any magnitude at any time in our lives.  I am not referring to the impossible as God does His best work in these instances!  Just as God wants to work miracles in the lives of His children, He also wants us to use the tools with which He has equipped us.  We are in a partnership with our Lord.  Just as a student who has chosen not to study for a semester exam will sweat puddles while praying for the correct answers, many of us set our Bibles, devotionals, or prayer times aside and then face the tests of life without being prepared.  We expect complete rescue and then blame God when we fail to receive it.

Our Scripture reference this week shows us how to prepare ourselves for the tests and trials that we will surely face.  God is on our side but we are a TEAM.  He is more than willing to do more than His part but we have to take responsibility too.  After all, cars will take us nowhere without inserting the key into the ignition.

This week I want to challenge you to draw closer to God by delving into and studying His Word.  And when a trial comes your way lift your head toward Heaven and call out, “Keys, please!”