Servin' in the Spirit...the Antidote to Sobbin'

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.

It was one of my first opportunities to babysit. I was a bit nervous but also excited to demonstrate my competence as a babysitter. Even though I was the youngest in my family, I figured it couldn't be that hard to watch over a little baby, right? Wrong!

Practically the moment the parents walked out of the house, the child began to cry. Too young for separation anxiety, I ran down the practical list of what could be wrong. Diaper: Dry. Tummy: Full. Gas: Burped. I tried cooing and coddling and cuddling. I tried smiling and singing and snuggling. Nothing worked. Finally, I too began to sob. How could I be so unable to serve the needs of this little child?

Today's passage is Romans 7. Paul continues his theme of sin in the life of the Christian. He also explores the role the Old Testament law plays in the life of the Christian. This section is rich with insight and it would take a month of days to explore all God could teach me just from this one chapter. As I read, one verse leaps from the page. "...by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code. (Verse 6)"

All too often, I find myself feeling unqualified, unprepared and unequipped for some situation I am facing. Maybe that's precisely my problem. I am relying on some formula or list of rules rather than on Jesus. God wants me to face my issue in the "new way of the Spirit" rather than in the old way of following rules. When I feel unqualified, I need to pray. When I feel unprepared, I need to read the Word. When I feel unequipped, I need to get scripture into my heart.

I am not suggesting that I don't need to continue to learn, grow and develop by reading books and taking classes. I read books on a variety of topics from marriage, to parenting, to public speaking and will continue to do so. I learn all I can from experts in any field of interest to me. But all the instruction in the world won't aid me if I'm not also relying on the power of God to accomplish through me what He sets before me.

When I reflect on that night when I held that baby as she cried tears of desperation, I can remember asking God for help. When I did, I noticed the baby was putting everything into her mouth and chewing on it. "Perhaps she's getting a tooth," I thought at long last. After a quick call to her parents and the application of some much needed Anbusol, she fell fast asleep. I stopped trying to rely on my babysitting training. I started seeking God's help. I found the answer I needed.

Jesus, today I will not face my problems looking only to knowledge of man, but also resting wholeheartedly on Your wisdom. Help me to serve my family, friends and church this very day in the "new way of the Spirit". Oh, and I'll use Anbusol if I have a toothache.