On Sunday, I shared the frustration of my love / hate relationship with our family's swimming pool. When we bought our house two years ago it came with an above ground swimming pool - it wasn't our preference but we thought it might be nice for the kids. I naively underestimated the amount of work it would be to maintain the pool. Over the last three summers I've had to deal with low Ph levels, high chlorine levels, green algae, mustard algae, leaks in the liner, stains in the liner, broken steps, torn skimmer nets, and countless trips to the pool supply store. Early in the swimming season it is not uncommon for me to make daily trips to the pool store to test the water and buy chemicals. This year my frustration/aggravation/anger levels reached an all time high as I made the 20-30 minute trek (one way) to the pool store for the fifth consecutive day. It was during this trip that the Lord spoke into my heart and changed my attitude about the pool and the frustration I was experiencing.
God could obviously rid my pool of all its issues - He parted the Red Sea he could handle a little algae in my 16 x 25 pool. Believe me, I've asked Him to! And yet the problems persist and I continue to make my trips to the pool store. Here's what God spoke into my heart - we see the frustration/aggravation of our situation but God sees a person at the pool place that needs to hear about the love of Jesus. We look at circumstances/situations but God always looks at people. Could it be that the Creator of the universe is allowing this situation in my life to miraculously orchestrate my interaction with someone who needs Jesus? I think God could handle arranging that type of encounter. With this in mind I now go to the pool store and instead of asking, "what stupid chemical am I going to have to buy now?", I ask, "who it is, Lord?" My whole attitude toward my frustrating/aggravating/infuriating situation has changed.
Everyone has a pool! Not in a literal sense, but you have some situation or circumstance you look upon with annoyance or dread. It could be related to work, health, household chores, your children, or any number of other situations. Could it be that God has allowed that thing to come into your life because he wants to orchestrate an encounter between you and someone who needs Jesus?
- You lost your job - maybe someone at the unemployment office needs Jesus.
- You lost your health - maybe there's a caregiver, doctor, nurse, or receptionist that needs Jesus.
- You have to go to physical therapy to rehab - maybe the therapist needs Jesus.
- Your car breaks down - the mechanic certainly needs Jesus!
God left you here on earth for a purpose and that purpose is to make His gospel known to all. The circumstances of our life are the catalyst God uses to bring us into contact with the people He wants to save. Like the Blue's Brothers - you are on a mission from God. So I encourage you to change your thought process about your situation. Instead of asking, "why is this happening to me?", start asking, "who do you want me to talk with about Jesus?"
By the way, let me invite you all over for a swim in our pool. The water is great!
Last week, I listened to a Bob Coy podcast involving swimming pools as well. There must be something in the water.
Posted by: Steve | June 11, 2011 at 10:23 PM