God's Crockpot

This past weekend in Church I learned something new (and all of this ties in with my last post). Over the summer the church we're attending has been working through the book of James. This coming week is the final weekend in the series, and this past weekend the message was on James 5.13-18. Verse 14 says, "Is anyone among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord;" and here is the new thing I learned. The word for "sick" in Greek is astheneo, and it means, "to be weak, feeble, to be without strength, powerless".

So often we take that verse simply to refer to physical illness, and while that is part of it, we have to remember that we are not simply physical beings. We are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. We have the physical, but also the mental, emotional, and spiritual. We can be "sick" more than just physically. We can be emotionally drained, mentally exhausted, and spiritually worn out. In all of these instances we call out to God relief, and when He doesn't deliver right away we feel forsaken, and that He doesn't care.

After the service Saturday night I had the chance to sit and talk with my pastor. I told him how I just feel stuck, and how I don't know if I believe that God really does want anything good for me. He knows a little of what I'm going through, but I got to open up a little more with him that night. And as we talked he shared an insight with me that I hadn't heard put like that before.

"Our generations don't know how to wait. We want God to do things instantly. We're wanting Him to cook us in the microwave. But God is using a crockpot." Cooking in a microwave is easy, anyone can do it. I almost want to put the word cooking in quotes. It's fast and it's simple, but if you've ever had a crockpot meal, there is no comparison. Microwave means can dry out, especially meat that gets reheated. But if you let a roast sit in a crockpot for hours it comes out moist and juicy. It's full of flavors that can only come from slow, constant heat.

God doesn't own a microwave, God doesn't rush anything. Everything happens for a purpose, and everything is working towards a goal. We're in God's crockpot. That knowledge doesn't make the difficulty any more bearable. It doesn't take away the weariness. Put it does serve as a reminder that God is always at work, and that nothing is wasted with Him.

I know that I'm in God's crockpot. Right now I feel that I'm being overcooked. I feel like my gifts are being wasted, and that my time has come and gone. Like I got one shot and I blew it, and that's all. I'm weary and worn out. But I have a pastor who cares. At the end of our conversation he put his hand on my shoulder and prayed for me.

I don't know how much longer God has me simmering, but I have to believe that He hasn't forgotten, and that the time is drawing close for me to get back out into full time ministry again.

"I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread."

To God alone be the Glory!

Peace be with you