I have spoken to many friends who are in a seemingly endless cycle of waiting, praying, and hoping, for God to open up a door or two of opportunity in their lives. They are either praying for direction in which college they should attend, deciding which job to take, or they are simply asking God to reveal His purpose for them. Some have been waiting for a few weeks, some for a few months, and others for many years. The waiting gets old, the praying is often an attempt to say the right words but after so long they have come to the end of their own vocabulary and they just don’t know how or what to pray anymore and that is when hope can begin to fade away as an evening sunset.

My grandfather passed away a few years ago. He and my grandmother lived in a little town called, LaPine, Oregon. They were transplants from Napa, California. They had a beautiful home in a picturesque part of the world and I was fortunate enough to visit there once. I remember a lot about the trip. Fishing on the bank of an Oregon river (but not catching anything), watching a bald eagle makes its way not twenty yards in front of me as it seemed to follower the path of the river as a hiker would follow a trail. I can also remember visiting Crater Lake. It was a beautiful trip but what I remember most is my grandfathers “man-cave” located a few yards behind the house. It was fairly large and it was home to an old car or two. But, where my grandfather spend most of his time was at the workbench. He loved to work with wood and he had every tool needed to make any piece of furniture that he so desired. I watched him as he picked out the best piece of wood for his project and how he cut, sanded, shaped, and worked that piece of wood into a masterpiece.

One day, during my trip, my grandfather wanted to teach me how to make something and I was all to eager to help. He chose the piece of wood and even the design (I can’t recall what the design was) but my grandfather did the unthinkable (insert sarcasm) and chose to teach me how to work with the wood. HE, not ME, sat at the workbench and began to work on the project as he spoke through each part of the process. This was taking WAY longer than I had hoped it would and I was frankly getting bored. We men are fixers but I wasn’t able to do any fixing! We did not finish the project that night but I could not wait to start again the next morning. When I awoke the next day I found out that my grandfather left early to run some errands and grandma did not know when he would be back. My brother was out chopping wood and my grandmother was messing around in the kitchen. But, I was bored! So, I decided to go out to my grandfathers workbench and take matters into my own hands. It wasn’t long when I realized that I was messing up what my grandfather had planned. I tried like crazy to fix some of the damage but I was only making it worse. It was then that I realized that someone else was in the “man-cave.” My grandfather wasn’t mad at me and he didn’t force his way to the workbench. I had to get up and let him take his rightful seat.

I was in my early 20’s when I learned this lesson and now I’m in my early 40’s and I just learned it again, or maybe I never really learned it at all. I am that friend who is waiting, praying, and hoping. But, for far too long I have been too impatient to wait on God to finish what He has started. A few weeks ago I tried to make something happen in my own power but like my grandfather God allowed me to take matters in my own hands. I finally came to the end of myself and I was tired of trying for many years to make something happen.  It was during an unplanned, early morning prayer session that I chose to get up from the workbench and let Him have control. Afterall, His Son was a carpenter, so what do I know?

May I encourage you to pray Rev 3:7-8 over your life. Just get up from the workbench and let the Master get back to work.