One Vital Step… Just not Done.

I came home from work today and went into the kitchen.
I saw the slow cooker out on the side. Ah, a good slow cooked meal to eat tonight. (Have you guessed where this is going yet?)

I looked at the slow cooker, and something just didn’t seem right.
The gravy wasn’t bubbling. The vegetables looked a little bit on the raw side. There was no heat in the pot!

What’s going on here then?

A quick look at the slow cooker and the problem was soon revealed.
It was plugged in and switched on at the mains…. but, the switch on the slow cooker itself had not been switched on. Doh.

Everything else had been done.
The meat had been prepared and added to the pot.
The vegetables had been cleaned, peeled (where needed) and cut and added to the pot.
The gravy had been mixed, and the herbs had been added…. to the pot.

Everything that was needed to be done to make a lovely slow cooked meal had been done…. except for one final step.
The switch hadn’t been turned to the on position, on the slow cooker.

I just smiled to myself, and thought, “We will be eating something different, to what was planned for tonight, then.” 🙂

I then also thought, “How many times do we do this with God?”

How many times have we been asked to do something, by our Loving Heavenly Father, and then only gone and done so much, and then just stopped?

How many times have we done all the vital preparation work and then just stopped because of ……

How many good home cooked meals have we missed out on, from Our Lord God Almighty, because we just didn’t take that last final step?

How many times have we been left with the promise of a good meal, but only been left with an uncooked meal…. just because we didn’t do….. ?

Our Lord God Almighty has so much goodness for us, if we will just follow His ways.
If we will just go over that final hurdle.

Psalm 81:8-16
⁸ Hear me, my people, and I will warn you—
    if you would only listen to me, Israel!
⁹ You shall have no foreign god among you;
    you shall not worship any god other than me.
¹⁰ I am the Lord your God,
    who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

¹¹ “But my people would not listen to me;
    Israel would not submit to me.
¹² So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
    to follow their own devices.

¹³ “If my people would only listen to me,
    if Israel would only follow my ways,
¹⁴ how quickly I would subdue their enemies
    and turn my hand against their foes!
¹⁵ Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,
    and their punishment would last forever.
¹⁶ But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;
    with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”