In five days, many of us will be gathered around a table with family to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner. For my family, that will mean lots of loud talking and laughter and the consumption of more food than we ever should eat.
This year, I get to fry the turkey! I do enjoy a fried turkey. Truth be told, as a true Southerner, I probably could be persuaded to try a fried flip-flop if you had some gravy to go along with it … uh, maybe not.
But the fried turkey is a different story. Here’s the way it will be: Early Thursday morning, I will begin by sprinkling a variety of spices on that bird and then injecting it with some Cajun juices. I will fire up the burner on the back patio and get the oil up to temperature. And then the big moment will arrive: I will slowly lower that turkey in the grease and let it do its thing.
But there will be those there to spoil the moment. I have three nephews, two sons, a brother-in-law and a dad who will want to help me. None of them will remember that they have eaten my fried turkey before. Oh no! Or if they do remember, they will recall that they were there giving advice and direction the last time, and that is the only reason that the bird turned out to be edible. “Did you (you fill in the blank)? Are you going to (again be something I know to do)? If it was me, I would (and one more time a piece of advice that I do not want to hear).” Oh yes. I will have more amateur advice than I know what to do with. And I will ignore it all and do things my own way, because that’s who I am.
And that is a rather sad thing on me. No, I’m not really talking about cooking advice. Get a bunch of men around a turkey fryer, and they are going to argue about how to do it. We will laugh, they will call me stubborn, and before nightfall the entire bird will be gone.
But here is my problem: Too many times, I know that God is speaking to me and saying, “I’ve got a better way,” and still I ignore him. I do it my own way — and that always leads to trouble. The Bible says, “’My ways are not your ways,’ says the Lord, ‘neither are my thoughts your thoughts.’” The fact is that his thoughts and ways always are better than mine. I ignore him to my own peril.
May I encourage you to not ignore the Lord? Listen to his voice. Read his word. Follow his advice. He made you for himself. He knows what is best for you. He will never lead you astray.
Heed God's directions
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