“You’d think that a product would come with instructions,” I complained to a friend. I had opened the box, taken out all the content, but could not find the instructions. Not wanting to go online to find them, I left the product and its box on my table.
Today, ready to tackle the installation, I picked up the box to throw it away, and what did I see? THE INSTRUCTIONS!
There they were- right on the box.
I assumed the paperwork would come inside the box with the product. Credit to the company, in their efficiency, they minimized the paper by printing the instructions right on the packaging. I completely missed them, because I was looking in the wrong place.
I laughed out loud at my ignorance, and then wondered….
What else do I miss because I’m looking in the wrong place?
or because it doesn’t fit my expectation?
What am I not seeing that I could be seeing, if I were really looking?
Isn’t it true, that often, when we’re asking God for something, we have a predetermined idea of what the answer should look like? Or an expectation of how and when the answer should come? Wasn’t this the issue with the Pharisees missing the Messiah? He didn’t come in the way they expected.
Three lessons for me to take away from this box…
- Pray for eyes to see, ears to hear, and the ability to perceive what God is doing.
- Don’t expect God to do something the same way He has done it before. He is infinitely creative!
- Be expectant and keep your eyes open. His answer might be right in front of you.
And of course, when opening packages, don’t expect the instructions to be inside the box!
See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.
What experience has caused you to look for God’s handiwork in a fresh way?
