A Two Year Old's Hissy Fit

Funny story... My family and I were at the beach last week for vacation. On Thursday, Nikki and I were the only ones up in the room; the rest of the family was down by the ocean. Now, you have to understand, Nikki doesn't like the ocean, whatsoever. The combination of salt water (Yuck!) and the fact that my lovely wife is vertically challenged! Come to think of it, that's probably why my back hurts now; from having to bend down so much to give her hugs and kisses! But I love her anyway.

Anyway... back to my story. We were up in the room and Nikki really wanted to go swimming in the pool. Now, I like the pool but I can only take so much. She likes to swim from side to side like one of the Olympic swimmers. Me, well, I'm no Michael Phelps. So she was begging me to go and I was being reluctant. And then she said one of the funniest things I've heard her say. She said, "Either go swimming with me or I will pitch a two year old hissy fit! I will throw stuff off of the balcony!" Now you have to picture her sitting in the floor with her bottom lip poked out, pouting. It was indeed funny. But the more I thought about it, the more it rang true with us as Christians.
Have you ever pitched a "two years old's hissy fit" when something didn't go your way? Or you had decided to "travel " along a certain path in life just to have it all completely changed in an instant. Let's take a look at Paul.

Acts 9 tells the story of Paul (before he was Paul) on the way to Damascus to persecute more Christians. And he had been doing this for some time. This was his chosen lot in life. But God had a different plan for him. God stopped him dead in his tracks and changed his life completely. Most everyone knows the story but for those of you who don't Paul ended up being blind for three days after this encounter with God. And still without even knowing what was going on or what was going to happen next, he was sent into the city. Now, I don't know about you, but I think that if it would have been me, this would have been grounds for a two years old's hissy fit. Imagine taking a toy away from a two year old. They are minding their own business only to have something stolen away from them. That must have been what Paul felt like. He enjoyed doing what he was doing but God chose him to fulfill a whole different purpose.

Acts 9:15- "But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel." The next time you are walking along life's pathway and God throws you a curve, don't pitch a hissy fit. Just take it as a better opportunity to serve others and serve God. That's how He sees it.

Here are the lyrics of a song that in a way describes what it must be like to know how to serve God only to have Him use you in a way that you don't even expect. The song is "Whatever " by Steven Curtis Chapman.

I made a list, wrote down from A to Z.
All the ways I thought that You could best use me.
Told all my strengths and my abilities.
I formed a plan it seemed to make good sense.
I laid it out for You so sure You'd be convinced.
I made my case, presented my defense.
But then I read the letter that You sent me.
It said that all You really want from me is just...

Whatever, whatever You say.
Whatever, I will obey.
Whatever, Lord, have Your way...
'Cause You are my God, whatever.

So strike a match, set fire to the list.
Of all my good intentions, all my preconceived ideas.
I want to do Your will no matter what it is.
Give me faith to follow where You lead me.
Oh, Lord, give me the courage and the strength to do ...

I am not my own.
I am Yours and Yours alone.
You have bought me with Your blood.
Lord, to You and You alone do I belong.
And so whatever...

Next Five Minutes

Do you have one of those songs in your head that you know by heart and sing along with every time you hear it? Do you pay attention to what the words mean? Or have you ever had one of those moments when the words all of a sudden hit you like a brick? Well, this is one of those songs. The first time I heard it, I was hooked. I would repeat it over and over again until I memorized the words. I even knew what the song was saying and knew what the song meant. I hadn't heard the song in several years and while downloading songs onto my iPod, I came across a CD that it was on. Not even listening to it, I loaded it anyway. And then completely forgetting that it was there, it came on while I was listening one day. Here are the words that I heard:

I can reminisce about the already.
I can worry and fret about the not yet.
But when it all comes down, you know it really all comes down to the right now.
So right now...

I'm living the next five minutes, like these are my last five minutes.
'Cause I know the next five minutes may be all I have.
And after the next five minutes, turn into the last five minutes,
I'm taking the next five minutes and starting all over again.

Every morning God is given is precious.
Every heartbeat, every breath I take.
I'll never have them back once they've left us.
There will never be another right now, so right now...

What would you do if you only had 5 more minutes? How would you be living your life if you knew that the Savior of the world was returning in that short amount of time? Would you sing your favorite praise song with your hands raised high? Would Jesus find you reading or reciting your favorite Scripture verses?

God says in James 4:14, "Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away" (NASB). Our time on this earth is limited. Not a single one of us is promised tomorrow. We don't know what the next five minutes hold for our lives. Things can change in a minute, even a second. We never know what the future holds. A very popular line of products came out several years ago asking the question, "What Would Jesus Do?" We need to make sure that we ask ourselves this in everything we do. "Would Jesus be happy with what I'm doing right now if He returned at this very moment?" Now, reading this has taken about 5 minutes, so take your next 5 minutes and start it all over again.