The big truck that couldn’t …

Early yesterday morning I was sitting in the back room of a Saxbys coffee shop looking out the wall-sized window at about six inches of fresh snow.

It was still snowing as I enjoyed a hot cup of coffee while my laptop booted up.

All the new snow was covering a sheet of ice that had plastered the parking lot (and city streets) a couple days before during an ice storm. Needless to say, driving on the slick surfaces was treacherous.

But the sub-freezing temperatures were bringing several customers to the drive-thru window of the coffee shop. That meant I could see every car turn in front of the window across from me in the drive-thru lane. In spite of the ice and snow, each car slowly, carefully, and seemingly easily maneuvered its way to the pick-up window.

That is, until the big Chevy pick-up truck came along.

The shiny black truck was sitting high on large, all-terrain tires and, as it made the turn, slowly began to slide sideways and spin its wheels. Within a few seconds, the big truck was stuck!

The driver first looked shocked, then perplexed. He eased off the accelerator, then tried once again to go forward, only to spin his wheels.

Shaking his head, the driver put the truck in reverse, backed up a few feet, then tried to ease the truck forward. Again, the big tires spun in the snow and the truck started to fishtail, angling the nose of the truck toward the large windows.

The driver stopped, back the truck up again, and gave a running start at going forward. He attempted this a few times until he finally spun his way forward and up to the pick-up window.

I felt sorry for the driver, as he was thoroughly surprised at the difficulty the snow and ice were causing his big, tough truck. A difficulty none of the little cars that came before him seemed to experience!

If any of us were picking a vehicle to take on tough terrain, we probably would pick out something like the truck that had come by the window. After all, in facing difficult elements it would seem to make sense to choose lots of power, rugged tires, and plenty of lift from the ground. The truck was simply dripping macho ability.

But regardless of the power the truck had, it wasn’t the right vehicle for that driveway.

In life, we often think the difficult and the “big” challenges belong to the strong, the courageous, the tough, the “macho.” Those with the big muscles and big titles. But it’s often the quiet, weak little guy that God taps to blaze a trail.

That’s not to say characteristics such as courage or strength, talent or training, experience or equipping aren’t important or valuable. They have their place. But when God wants a person to accomplish His work, He looks at the heart of the person rather than the trimming.

When selecting a new king to replace Saul as ruler over Israel, God picked someone who surprised His prophet, Samuel. In 1 Samuel 16, God instructs Samuel to find a man named Jesse, as it would be one of his sons who God would raise up as the new king. In the classic act of looking at outward appearance, Samuel makes an incorrect judgment:

“When they arrived, Samuel took one look at Eliab and thought, ‘Surely this is the Lord’s anointed!’” (1Samuel 16:6).

Like the big Chevy truck, Eliab may have looked like he was equipped to be the next king, but he wasn’t the right man for the job. God corrected Samuel’s assumption: “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Don’t judge by his appearance or height, for I have rejected him. The Lord doesn’t see things the way you see them. People judge by outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”

After parading the remainder of his sons before the prophet, Samuel asks Jesse if these are all of his sons. No, there remains the youngest, but he’s out tending the sheep and goats. Samuel insists he be sent for, that they would not even sit until he arrives! And when he does, Samuel comes face-to-face with the man God would make the greatest human king in Israel’s history.

“So Jesse sent for him. He was dark and handsome, with beautiful eyes. And the Lord said, ‘This is the one; anoint him.’ So as David stood there among his brothers, Samuel took the flask of olive oil he had brought and anointed David with the oil. And the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David from that day on. Then Samuel returned to Ramah” (1 Samuel 16:12-13).

Perhaps you feel like you’re a SmartCar among Hummers. Don’t fret, God can use you in a mighty way! God has a purpose for your life, and with that purpose He provides the powerful anointing of the Holy Spirit. It isn’t the physical package you bring that determines what you can accomplish for God, but the heart you have in serving Him.

Do you trust God to use you? Have you made your heart available to what God has in store for you? Or are you passing the buck to the big guy who isn’t equipped for what only you can do for God?

Scotty