Let’s call this story, "The Kid in the Car." Imagine a father promises to take his little daughter to Disney World. The child gets in the car but after a few miles, she starts asking, "Are we there yet?"
The father says, "Not yet" and keeps on driving toward Disney World.
However, the child soon get bored and starts murmuring to herself: "He’s just driving around to fool me. He’s never going to get me to Disney World."
She looks out the car window, but doesn’t see any sign of Disney World. All she sees are trees, billboards, and the occasional small town. She feels discouraged.
After a couple of hours in the car, she starts imagining the worst of her father: "I’ll bet he doesn’t even know where he’s going!"
They stop along the way to have a meal. As they return to the car, the child says to herself, "That food was terrible. I want to go back home. Forget about Disney World."
Before she gets back into the car, she grumbles to her father, "Why did you bring me out here? It
was better for us at home. The seat is uncomfortable in the car, plus I’d rather starve to death than eat more food like that. Why don’t we turn around and go back?"
The father is surprised. "But didn't you say you wanted to go to Disney World? I already paid for the tickets and I took time off from work to take you. We are going have a great time. Trust me.
I’ve been there before and I know you’ll love it."
The child says, "I don’t care how you feel. This drive is just too uncomfortable. The food was better back home. I don’t want to go to Disney World anymore."
Then,
she shrugs her shoulders and turns her back on her father, "I don’t believe you can get me to Disney World anyway. Somebody else can take me someday. Let’s just turn around and go home."
- What would you say about such a child?
- How do you think the child’s attitude would make the father feel at that moment?
I believe that many in the body of Christ act like the "Kid in the Car."
It saddens me to admit that I’ve been
the Kid in the Car at times on the way to some of God’s promises!
In the past, I’ve been discouraged, grumbled about uncomfortable circumstances, and doubted the Lord’s ability to drive.
I thought about returning to the way I
came, deceiving myself into thinking my past was safer, even though it was anything but safe for my health.
However after many years, the Lord changed my mindset, in particular regarding reaching my ideal weight. One morning, I woke up with the following phrase in my mind:
"Don’t forget to remember.”
In the Bible, God’s people got in trouble when they forgot about God’s character, what He had done for them in the past, and His presence in their present.
If you recognized yourself in the "Kid in the Car" story, then the following 2 tips will help you change your mindset into confidence that the Lord will get you to your Promised Land in due season.
Be blessed in health, healing, and
wholeness,
Kimberly Taylor
Creator of the Take Back Your Temple program