Tuck In Your Shirt
John 2:5
His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.”
Over the last few services, we’ve been talking about the first miracle Jesus ever demonstrated. The key to experiencing creative miracles lies in what Mary, the mother of Jesus, told the servants: to obey whatever he tells you to do. Obedience is critical. It doesn’t matter how insignificant or foolish His instructions may seem to you, simply obey Jesus and you will be a candidate for the miraculous. (Click HERE to read more.)
Most people don’t realize this, but God can tell you to do something through someone else.
There’s a great example from my own life of a simple instruction, and one that seems insignificant (and irritating), that really demonstrates this idea.
When I worked in Corporate America we would have “Jean Day” on Fridays. It was pretty casual, and those that wore jeans would would also wear their shirts untucked. Now, the rule was even though you can wear jeans, you had to tuck your shirt in. However, everyone would wear his or her shirt out including me. I would just follow the crowd and do what everyone else was doing. And my rational was that a Polo Shirt should not be tucked in anyway. A higher-level manager in my department would notice my untucked shirt, walk right up to me and tell me to tuck my shirt in. I would think, “you just walked past twenty-five people with their shirts out, why are you singling me out?”
I would tuck my shirt in but then later on that day, I would pull my shirt right back out of my jeans. This manager would see me again, and say something. What was going on? Why was he just approaching me? Maybe he was discriminating against me? (Don’t look crazy. You have those thoughts too).
While driving home one day, the Spirit of God spoke to me and said, “You are rebellious. Your manager is telling you to tuck your shirt in. And you are responding with disobedience. If you cannot obey what he tells you to do, then you cannot obey what I'm telling you to do.”
So I came in the next Friday with my shirt tucked in. And then God instructed me to go and apologize to him.
When I went into his office I said, “Listen, I want to apologize to you for not following the rules and always having my shirt untucked. You have been telling me to tuck in my shirt for weeks and never again will you have to tell me to tuck it in.”
He asked me to shut the door and said, “You are going places! I am not going to let your progress be hindered by breaking the rules and not having your shirt tucked in. It's the small details that disqualify people. All these other folks, they are not going anywhere. That's why I don't say anything to them. But you are going places.”
He was right.
I was promoted three times in two years within the organization. When you get promoted to higher positions, you're going to have some good referrals from former managers. Do not be rebellious. Obey God. Obey what God is saying through people. Your creative miracle is on the other side of your obedience.
Are you willing to obey God in what would seem to be small and meaningless instructions?
Obedience is the key to experiencing creative miracles!