Waiting by the Oven

This morning I opened to Mark 4:26-29 in The Message. This passage has the subtitle "Never Without A Story." (I like stories.) The passage reads,

Then Jesus said, "God's kingdom is like seed thrown on a field by a man who then goes to bed and forgets about it. The seed sprouts and grows- he has no idea how it happens. The earth does it all without his help: first a green stem of grass, then a bud, then the ripened grain. When the harvest is fully formed, he reaps-- harvest time!"

As I read this passage, I immediately recalled something God showed me a couple of nights ago. I saw an oven door, with two large trays of food cooking inside. In the vision, I opened the door and checked the temperature of the food, and found that while one tray was finished and ready to come out, the other was NOT ready. It needed to stay in the oven and cook longer. I knew I needed to take the cooked food out, but then walk away and let the other food continue to cook.

God was telling me that he was cooking something up for me-- something good!-- but it wasn't done cooking yet. More time was required, and I must wait. HOWEVER, it would do me absolutely no good to be waiting by the oven. Could I pull up a chair and watch it? Certainly. Would it cook faster because I was watching? Not at all. Instead I needed to be like the farmer in the above passage, who planted the seeds and then went to bed. The next day, he went about his normal life. Eventually, the rain came and the seeds sprouted without his help at all!

Sometimes God does things in our lives that require our active participation. Other times, God does things all by himself, and wants us to walk away. He will let us know when the food is ready to come out. Waiting by the oven is pointless, and other things require our attention. The seed will grow without our assistance, and we will reap the harvest-- right on time.

May we each discern when to get involved, and when to walk away for a bit longer while we let God work.

Almost ready. Yummy!