People want to take the credit when things go well. And there is nothing wrong with working hard and wanting to be recognized for your efforts. However, we should never forget that our success or failure is in God\u2019s hands.<\/p>\n
When the Israelites were entering the Promised Land they were cautioned not to forget that it is God who blesses. God warns them not to think, \u201cMy power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17),\u201d but to always remember that it is God who gives you the power to get the wealth (v. 18).<\/p>\n
This is illustrated in the movie Shenandoah which takes place during the mid 1800s. Charlie Anderson, played by Jimmy Stewart, is a widowed farmer and family patriarch who promised his dead wife he would raise their children as Christians. So he takes the family to church each Sunday and dutifully says this prayer before every meal, \u201cOh Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it and sowed it and harvested. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn\u2019t be here and we wouldn\u2019t be eating it if we hadn\u2019t done it all ourselves. We worked dog bone hard for every crumb and morsel but we thank you just the same Lord for this food we\u2019re about to eat anyway.\u201d Well, it\u2019s not exactly the model prayer mentioned in Matthew 6 is it? But in Charlie\u2019s mind it suffices.<\/p>\n
When the Civil War breaks out, Charlie faces quite a dilemma. He refuses to support the South because he\u2019s opposed to slavery. He refuses to support the North because he is deeply opposed to war. Unfortunately he is located in the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia and remaining neutral is virtually impossible, especially after his youngest son is captured. After a quest to find his son, getting involved in a war he wanted no part of, turmoil, strife, and hardship, what remains of the family is gathered once again around the table to eat. As they bow their heads Charlie starts to pray. It\u2019s the same prayer but in a more humble spirit. In a raspy voice he barely chokes out the words, \u201cOh Lord, we cleared this land. We plowed it and sowed it and harvested. We cooked the harvest. It wouldn\u2019t be here and we wouldn\u2019t be eating it if we hadn\u2019t done it all ourselves.\u201d When he says the word \u201courselves,\u201d he can say no more. He leaves the table holding back his tears and goes to his wife\u2019s grave on a hill above the farmhouse. Charlie learned some hard lessons. He learned that he couldn’t always control everything that happened in his life. He also learned a lesson we all struggle to learn. We don\u2019t do it all ourselves.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s sad that we don\u2019t see that until we are faced with trials we can\u2019t control. I wonder if we aren\u2019t sometimes guilty of praying that first prayer. Paying God homage but secretly thinking we are doing it all. Maybe we can get by with that kind of prayer for a while, until God allows a trial to bring us down to reality. Whether we believe it or not, God is in control. It may appear we are doing all the dog bone hard work, but there is a higher power who allows us to clear, plow, and sow. He provides sunshine and rain for the growth. And then if He so wills, allows us to harvest, cook, and eat.<\/p>\n
We may be doing the work, but it is God who blesses the effort.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
People want to take the credit when things go well. And there is nothing wrong with working hard and wanting to be recognized for your efforts. However, we should never forget that our success or failure is in God\u2019s hands. … Continue reading