Simon Says what?

Have you ever played the game "Simon Says"? As a child, I played it with my friends alot. It is a game that really initiates following directions. If you remember right, whatever Simon said, you would have to do. But listening carefully was the key to the game. You could only follow the instructions if Simon said so, but once in a while instructions were given without Simon. If you followed these instructions, you were out of the game.

Following directions aren't always that easy.
Especially when it comes to following God's directions. We make it more difficult than it needs to be. One of the biggest problems of following His directions is because its alot like the Simon Says game...we don't listen to the right voice. Often times we proceed without waiting to hear His voice.

I think that sometimes we miss out on a miracle because we do not wait and follow God's directions. Look at the miracle of the widow. Elisha came to her and asked her, "How can I help you?" (2 Kings 4:1) Once she revealed that she had nothing, Elisha gave her clear instructions to follow. It would have been so much easier for God to have Elisha bring what the widow lady needed. That in itself would have been an amazing miracle. But instead, God used Elisha to allow the widow lady to follow directions to obtain her miracle.

³ Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. ⁴ Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
⁵ She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. ⁶ When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

The widow's son looked, and found there were no more jars left. As soon as the last jar was full of oil, the oil stopped. There was no more. Just the amount that the widow lady started with. When she told Elisha that the jars were full, he told her to go sell it and live on what she made from the oil.

In order for the widow to get her miracle, she had to follow directions. I wonder what would have been the outcome if she had not followed Elisha's instructions. What would have happened if she tried to cut a corner and not do exactly what the man of God told her to do.

She might have been robbed of her miracle.

Many times I think the devil robs us of our miracle  because we are not following the directions. The directions of God can be found in His Word, The Holy Spirit also gives us directions but many times we do not listen. The problem is like the Simon Says game, we aren't listening carefully enough for the instructions. It's not about what Simon (or Laurie or insert your name) says...it's all about what God says!

Don't lose out on your miracle!