After eighteen years of marriage, I discovered the wonders of cooking with a crock pot. I finally used one of our wedding gifts, which had been sitting dormant, waiting to be utilized. That is a message in and of itself, as the crock pot, while waiting to be called upon, never lost its purpose or ability.
It was ready to fulfill its design, even though I had ignored it until now. And since being called into service, it has performed faithfully, without fail. Do you have a dormant gift waiting to be used?
The beauty of the crock pot is slow cooking over (relatively) low heat, over an extended period of time. Because of the low heat, it does not require constant or even periodic monitoring. You simply add the ingredients, set the temperature, and LEAVE IT ALONE! While it is cooking, you can go do something else.
At the appointed time, you come back to it and your meal is ready to eat. It’s that simple. Crock pots are known for cooking up simple yet flavorful meals, with tender meats, juicy vegetables, and aromatic sauces. The quality of the outcome truly belies the quantity of the effort. That is what makes slow cooking so great…if you LEAVE IT ALONE!
I emphasize that because my early efforts took longer to get the desired results than the recipes called for. Upon further review, I learned my constant lifting of the lid, to check on the progress and the process, was adding more time to the situation. I had to wait longer, because I would not leave it alone.
There are things in our lives God has put in His crock pot. Years ago I asked God about getting married. I was still in college, and He told me not to ask for at least three years. I wasn’t ready yet.
Everything was in me, but I was in the slow cooker and my appointed time was still a ways off. That didn’t stop me from lifting the lid though, anytime (and every time?) I met, saw, or spent time with a sister, I lifted the lid.
Some of our dreams, callings, and ultimate purposes are in God’s crock pot. He is leaving them alone until the appointed time. He has placed all the ingredients in your life, He is allowing them to simmer, to cook slowly, mixing and merging, softening and flavoring.
He is sure what He placed in you, and He knows at the appointed time, when He takes the lid off of you, it will be perfect. A quality of outcome that belies the quantity of effort! Isn’t that what we want? Meanwhile, He is doing something else!
He uses our obedience, our faithfulness, our service, to serve as that slow cooker. These things give us a tender heart, add flavor to our ministry, and cause amazement at the simplicity and wonder of it all.
So don’t fret if He leaves the lid on for a little while longer. You may think you’re ready, you may want to be ready, but He wrote the recipe of your life and He knows when you are ready… and when the world is hungry for your gift.
So close the lid and leave it alone. He knows your appointed time, and when HE lifts the lid you will be tender, full of flavor, and the aroma of His anointing will fill the room!
Everyday God... 