Rerun of Daily Devotional October 1, 2018
A grain drill is a large implement pulled by a tractor that plants seeds at equal distances and the proper depth. It is a wonderful piece of machinery when it works.
This past Saturday, my grain drill was not cooperating, and I was behind in planting winter oats. The Maedgens were kind enough to lend me theirs.
When I got to the Maedgen’s ranch, Mike and I hooked up their grain drill to my truck. We discussed that I would have to go the long way to go home because if I pulled a sixteen-foot-wide grain drill through Troy, I would take out every mailbox in town.
Luckily, everyone else taking the back roads around Troy understood that if a sixteen-foot-wide piece of equipment was coming down the road, the courteous thing to do was pull over as far as possible so there wouldn’t be an accident.
I got my field planted a few minutes before the rains fell. I was feeling pretty good about life as I pulled the grain drill back to the Maedgen’s ranch. And as usual, I had a few adventures pulling such a large piece of equipment over such narrow roads, but nobody died so I considered it a success.
About a mile inside the ranch, there is a sixteen-foot concrete bridge. Mike had told me that the grain drill was so wide, at one point on the bridge both tires would be partially hanging over the edge but going out wasn’t that big a deal because I was able to approach the bridge at a straight angle, so everything was lined up just right. Coming back was a different story.
To return the grain drill meant crossing that narrow concrete bridge after making a hard right turn. As I got to the bridge, Mike asked me if I thought I could make the turn and pull the grain drill over the bridge. At that moment, in my manly pride I said, “I’ll try anything once.” But a small voice in the back of my mind said, “Don’t do it.” I should have listened to that small voice. It did not go well.
In looking at the mess I made, Mike laughed and said, “Another day on the Maedgen’s ranch.” And while Mike was able to find humor in the moment, I was not quite as amused.
Mike and I did everything we could to get the grain drill back onto the bridge. And as we discussed getting a chainsaw to cut down a large tree, Mike said, “You’re not going to like this, but I called Dee.” He was right. I didn’t like it.
In a few minutes, Dee and Zack pulled up and from their reaction, you would have thought it was the funniest thing they had ever seen. And to make matters worse, Shawna pulled up with all three daughters in the car. That’s when I realized the Maedgens had decided to have a family reunion on the bridge. I couldn’t have been happier.
The good news is that once the entire Maedgen clan arrived, it didn’t take Dee anytime at all to get the grain drill on the bridge and the only real damage had been my pride. Then they spent the next half hour telling me about all the adventures they had through the years with farm equipment. It was very entertaining.
The point is that prior to trying to pull the grain drill over the bridge, that little voice in my head kept saying, “Don’t do this.” But I refused to listen.
I truly believe one of the ways God speaks to us is through the little voice in the back of our minds that tells us what is right and wrong. The problem is that stubborn people like me don’t pay enough attention to the little voice because we always know better. Saturday afternoon proved I didn’t.
Nowhere in the Bible will you find the words, “Be ye stupid.” In fact, it is just the opposite. God expects us to use wisdom and common sense. That’s why King Solomon said, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.” (Proverbs 2:6)
Pay attention to the little voice in the back of your mind. More than likely that is God trying to keep you out of trouble.
Prayer: Dear Gracious Heavenly God, as I face the challenges of this week, grant me common sense. Let me hear you speak to the circumstance of my life. Enable me to truly listen and follow your guidance. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Saturday night I got a text from David that said, “I heard rumor you were super farmer today. Might be some good daily devotional material from what I hear.” Needless to say, I am not going to be living this down anytime soon.
Also, just for the record, technically the grain drill was not in a tree because one tire was still on the ground.
In the immortal words of Forest Gump, “That’s all I’m going to say about that.”
I pray your day is filled with joy and laughter.
Tom Robbins
Daily Devotionals by Dr. Tom Robbins 