Hit "Start"

Our most recent dishwasher has a wonderful feature. When it's full of dirty dishes at the end of the day I can load in the detergent, push all the settings and then delay the start until later in the evening when cost savings on electricity kick in and, fast asleep, we won't be disturbed by the noise.

One morning I headed to the kitchen ready to unload and put away all the sparking dishes, a fresh start to another day. Imagine my dismay when I realized that the dishwasher had not gone through the previous night. I checked all the settings - type of load, water temperature, cool air dry and time delay were all selected.  Ah . . . I had forgotten to hit "Start." What a simple yet vital step.

As I hit "Start" I thought of other things that I had planned, had taken steps to get ready for,  and then had had nothing happen. Often, those were plans I'd made for something I'd wanted to do for God . . . plans for sharing my faith or plans for using my gifts in new ways. Or they'd been plans I'd made to work on my relationship with God . . . plans for more regular prayer time or to join a Bible study.

But nothing had ever happened because I hadn't hit "Start." Paul said, For the kingdom of God depends not on talk but on power (1 Corinthians 4:2). I needed to stop making plans and talking about them, and draw on God's power and just get going.

What have you been planning or wanting to do with God? Don't delay - hit start now - and let the cleansing power of God get working!

By Linda Wolfe. Linda's home church is Glen Acres Baptist Church, Waterloo.