FROM THE PASTOR'S PORCH: Wait and Listen!!

[Lynn D. Walker]

Please visit us at COWBOY COUNTRY CHURCH

FROM THE PASTOR'S PORCH: Wait and Listen!!

Do you ever think back to when you were a kid and realize how much trouble you caused yourself by not listening to your Daddy? There's a lot more to the words “Father knows best” than just the title of an old TV show! Seems like every time I didn't listen to my Daddy I wound up getting' hurt.

I remember one time goin' coon huntin' with my Daddy when I was a little boy. I took off running in the dark ahead of my Daddy in the woods. Just about the time I heard him holler "WAIT", a low tree limb caught me right between the eyes! My feet went up in the air over my head and the first thing to hit the ground was the back of my head! The next morning I looked like one of the critters that me and them dogs was chasin'.

Another time, when I was about twelve years old, I had saved up a little money, and it just so happened that OTASCO got in a shipment of old army surplus British Infield .303 rifles. I couldn't afford a Winchester or Remington deer rifle, but these babies were on sale for about $12.50!!! I marched in there and plopped down my hard earned $15 or so for one of those rifles and a box or two of ammo. When I got it home, I proceeded to “sporterize” my new treasure to make it look like a real deer rifle; I started removing all the old wood that went all the way to the end of the barrel; this would not only look better but it would also make it lighter. Pretty smart, huh? My Daddy told me, “boy, that wood is on there for a reason. You might not ought to take that off.” But....I didn't listen and I took it off anyway. Of course then I found out the hard way why it was on there. I found me something to shoot at and I rapidly fired a whole clip of ammo through that old rifle. As I started to set my rifle down and lean it up against a tree, I made the mistake of grabbing it by the barrel. Those old rifle barrels were pretty thin and when you fired that high powered ammo through it in a hurry, it gets really, really HOT!!! All that wood on the barrel allowed a soldier to fire the rifle continuously and still be able to carry it without getting' burned!! I blistered the palm of my right hand and all four fingers real bad because I didn't heed my Daddy's warning.

Failure, black eyes, and burned fingers were a sure sign of my impatience, not knowing my own limitations, and not listening to my Daddy. The moral to these stories is: Don't take off running if your Daddy says to wait, and don't go through with your own plans if Daddy says not to do it. If you act on impulse or “feeling” you will get tangled up in difficult and dangerous situations. In other words, don't run before God gives you His direction, and you will have much less heartache and disappointment in your life. If there is any doubt.........WAIT. The Holy Spirit is the only one who can direct the course of your life successfully!! ~Pastor Lynn