Remember Bop-It? I loved this game as a kid. I remember always trying to do better than my brothers at it. Now, there's a new version with lots of new features. Recently, I was teaching some kiddos how Bop-It works. As expected, the youngest one had trouble remembering what to do when certain instructions were given. The Bop-It game would make random remarks whenever someone failed to do what it said. One thing that I realized it says is "It's not that hard; just do what I say." I heard that phrase several times throughout the day as the kids practiced their Bop-It skills.
That phrase got me thinking. It's a fairly simple idea: "It's not that hard; just do what I say." As a nanny, I think this same thought often. When I ask kids to put their shoes away and they end up in the middle of the kitchen, I wonder where my instructions got confused in the little one's mind. I find myself thinking "It's not that hard; just do what I say."
As often as I think this while I'm working with kids, I imagine God thinks it constantly about me. God's Word clearly instructs us on what is right and wrong; we are to do and what we aren't. Yet, I struggle. I know that self-sufficiency is a sin, yet I find myself continually depending on myself instead of trusting God. I worry even though I know that God says to "Cast all of our anxiety on Him" (1 Peter 5:7a). I have an incredibly hard time following God's instructions in specific areas in my life, even though I know how I should handle those areas. I know I'm supposed to love others, but sometimes, it's hard. I know that God commands me to forgive when people have hurt me, but again, that can be difficult! When I fail, I know there's grace upon grace, but I also wonder if God is thinking, "Just do what I say." He knows what's best for me. He has a plan for my life, yet I flounder and try to do things on my own because I forget. Life gets overwhelming and sometimes I try to keep up on my own, and I inevitably crash and burn (that's also usually how a game of Bop-It ends for me!)
Playing Bop-It with a four year old reminded me that even though we know what we're to do, we still fail. However, when Bop-It shames the user for failing, I'm also reminded of God's amazing grace because even when I fail time and time again, there's new grace for each situation as He continues to mold me into the person He wants me to be. I know how to play Bop-It, but I still lose often. I know how to follow God, but I still fall short at times.
When Bop-It says "It's not that hard; just do what I say," I'm reminded that sometimes, it is hard, and there's grace for our failures, and the promise that God will continue to work in our lives.
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