Good morning people who are willing to walk through mess to see God’s will be done.

Proverbs 14:4 MEV Where no oxen are, the crib is clean; but much increase is by the strength of the ox.

The Christian life is more synonymous with a battle ship than it is a cruise liner. The unfortunate reality is that most of us would understandably prefer the cruise liner to the battle ship.

The imagery seen in the verse today paints a vivid picture. The setting is an agriculture one where you have some oxen. The purpose of the oxen is their strength in what they do. They can achieve a lot more than a person could by themselves. As the scripture says, there is much increase by the strength of the ox.

While the results are wonderful, the process of keeping oxen is not so pleasant. Living things produce mess – literally – and this mess is not nice to clean up. Personally, I have a very weak stomach. Certain smells are offensive to my nose (can anyone relate?).

But without the guarantee of the mess, you cannot have the guarantee of the increase.

We have signed up to the kingdom of God. We are part of the family of God, and families can be messy. We are called to walk worthy of our calling, and at times, this walking is through the valley of the shadow of death.

And then there is the mess that is not so much about wrong things being done, but about all the requirements associated with extending the kingdom of God. Whether it be running or involved in a church, a business or a ministry, increase comes with the much that needs to be done.

So, my prayer today is this:

“Father, help us to rightly see what is needed in order to walk in Your intended increase and fruitfulness. May we have Your grace and wisdom in order to keep in step what Your Holy Spirit.”

Like Jesus, may we also keep our eyes on the joy that is set before us.