Pushing the Dirt Around

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” Proverbs 3:5-6

This is my scripture for the year. I am to lean on God for the big, the bad and the hard things.

I sit at my window in Montana watching a big machine push dirt around. That’s what it appears like to me anyway. Actually, I found out recently it’s sand, and there is also a machine that is used to crush rocks into sand. They do this multiple times to refine the sand. All these processes make a lot of noise, not far from my bedroom window, and the sand pile blocks my view of the forest. They also choose to start at around 6:30 in the morning. WHAT?

I know there is a life lesson in here somewhere. While I’m sure there is a good reason for all they do in that sand pile, I can’t really see much of the reason behind it. I think God is like that sometimes with our lives.

When God says to move, we need to trust Him even when we can’t see what He is doing. We want Him to reveal His plans and purposes before we take that first step. Sometimes He gives us just enough light to reveal the first step. We have to have faith to take the second and the third step. God goes before us, moving us in the right direction, removing obstacles, opening doors and aligning circumstances to get us where we need to be.

I’ve moved quite a bit around the country. Sometimes we moved for new and better jobs. Sometimes we moved because of job loss. I have certainly done my share of asking God why this is happening. “Why am I moving around the country, Lord? “What possible purpose could there be in changing jobs, home, friends, a church family?” Like the sand pile, are you setting up something for later, are you building something that I can’t see?

Do I push the piles of dirt around in my life hoping to make them look better or taller, or am I simply hiding them under the rug? Do I make excuses for unChrist-like behavior, or cover it up with yesterday’s sand? Do I call it a mistake, or do I get tripped up when something I don’t like, and God doesn’t like, comes out of my mouth? Let’s just call it what it is—sin.

The sand pile is still a sand pile no matter how neatly it’s stacked.

I bought a new hairbrush for my double-coated Mini Aussie. I tried it out yesterday, and boy was the hair flying. All that hair is usually flying around inside my camper. It sticks to the seats and the bed and my clothes to the point where I have to de-hair myself every day before I head out to work. I think I have it under control, and then I look at my pants or my shirt. Like the dirt pile, it may seem to be “better,” but it’s still just a dirt pile, or a pile of hair.

God sees all of our dirt, no matter how hard we try to clean it up. But he’s the Master at cleaning it up when we seek to cooperate with him. I’ve been a Christian for more than 40 years, but He still finds my stray lint, even when I think I’m pretty cleaned up. Sometimes, I make a lot of noise pushing the dirt around. Maybe I even think he can’t find what I’ve buried deep in my soul, but He unearths it anyway. It sometimes hurts to get cleaned up by God, but the work he is doing is literally soul-cleansing.

Take some time today to inspect your sand pile. We all have one. What do you think you are hiding from God? What do you need to trust Him with? The Holy Spirit is our guide and will lead you on your journey of becoming what you are meant to be in Christ.

Prayer:

Lord, I thank you for the way you use simple ideas—like the sand pile- to bring out deeper meaning in our lives. I pray that you will use this practical example to shed light on our deepest-held hurts and secrets and even sins. Begin the clean-up process, Lord. Find every stray hair and dirt so we can serve you with clean hearts and minds.

In Jesus’ name we pray.

Discussion questions:

1. What stray sand in your life affects your walk with the Lord?

2. Can you take time to ask God for a deeper walk? What do you think might be the results?

3. Have you ever had to take a step of faith that seemed like a huge leap? What happened, and how did God lead you there?

Action steps:

Begin by asking the Holy Spirit to reveal the stray dirt in your life. Be open to his leading.

Maybe there is someone that you need to forgive. Do you need to forgive yourself for a wound in your life that you would rather keep under the dirt?

Take time to pray and seek God for the answers. He will always come through for you.