God, You are Hot Sauce

In September this year, I started getting up at 4 a.m. on work days to ensure I spend time in my Word. Four o'clock because the gym opens at 5, and Kwesi and I have a schedule that we've mapped out around who will go to the gym on what morning.

A couple of Sunday mornings ago, I rose earlier than normal (I think because my body has adjusted to the earlier rising these days). I pulled my devotional books and Bible off the floor by my side of the bed, and when I got ready to crack them open, Kwesi had rolled over, and he began to pray what sounded like, "God, You are hot sauce."

HE'S LEADING!!!

What he really said was, "God, You are our source" in a groggy Trinidadian line of thanksgiving first thing in the morning. But even when I thought he was calling God a spicy topping, I was grateful to go with him in prayer because my ... husband ... was ... leading ... me ... in ... PRAYER! He was LEADING me to time with God, and you betta' know I was gonna' stick around to hear the connection between our God and this kickin' condiment!

The bottom line I'm drawing here is gratefulness that the leader of my home -- MY leader -- chose to lead me in this moment. So, I briskly pushed aside the qualms I was about to have regarding his decision to pray during my personal time with God. See, quite often (because of the task oriented person I am) I can miss what God wants to do -- the sincerity of a moment and the authenticity of a lesson -- due to being caught up in a routine (thankfully, I'm learning to relax and grow these days).

THE FORWARD LEAN

That morning, Kwesi also prayed, "God, help us keep You on the forefront of our minds." This gave me the visual of a person either leaning forward or backward based on his thinking. In this illustration, a person tilts forward if he leans into the present or future through his thinking. The inverse of this forward leaning person is one being weighted backward if he always has the past on his mind. I want to be a person leaning to the front (the way that some at my church say our pastor walks with the utmost briskness -- ha haaaaaaaa!).

HOW'S YOUR WAVE GAME?

I don't want the state I'm in to mean something negative for those connected to me. The story of Jonah causes me to think about this in "waves," for I wonder if anybody else on any other boat in the same stormy sea as Jonah, was rocked the same way he and the crew he endangered were rocked. This makes me think, "When I'm having a crappy day, does my family suffer? When I'm frazzled and angry, do my man and kids have to inhale the second hand smoke from it?" This is a chin check for sure.

My "forward leaning" pastor often says that a mature Christian has good and bad days but stays even keel through them both. This is not an expectation that one isn't honest about what he experiences, but it does mean that one stays white-on-rice close to the posture of "God's got me regardless ... on the hill and in the valley." This helps me to do my darndest to "know how to get along and live humbly [in difficult times], and ... also know how to enjoy abundance and live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance I [want to] have learned the secret [of facing life], whether well-fed or going hungry, whether having an abundance or being in need" - Phil 4:12 (Amplified Version).

The Apostle Paul put the smack down right there for us in that verse, showing us that the grand scheme of the Christian life strips us from letting our emotions lead. In this dance, we ought to have heavy heart convictions that steer our ships (lives) always in the direction in which God leads. So, I leave you with a quote from Pastor Bill Johnson of Bethel Church.

"The mind is a better student than teacher, a better follower than leader. It's to be taught by the spirit ... not to rule over and dominate the Christian life. The renewed mind considers reality from what the Lamb (Jesus) has accomplished. Therefore, all [believers] come under the redemptive work of Jesus. [This redemptive work is] done on the believer's behalf, and this is the normal life for [said] believer."

I don't want the world's normal. I'll take the normal Pastor Johnson's talking about.

#God #HotSauce #Wife #Led #Husband #Leader #Jonah