Daily Devotional – 11/30/11 “Why are you crying over spilled milk?”

Now, I know that we’ve all heard the saying “Don’t cry over spilled milk.”  But what does that really mean?  (The only reason I would cry over spilled milk is if it was the last and I really wanted cereal.)  After hearing this for as long as I can remember, I know that this saying is not actually referring to milk, but of things that have happened or happen that you have no control over.

Let me explain.  You’ve been married for ten (10) years to your high school sweetheart.  You have the house, car, 2 kids, a dog and all seems to be right in your world.  Your husband is a provider, you all attend church every Sunday as a family and he is a deacon while you sing in the choir.  You know that God has ordained your household, so you aren’t worried.  Then one day your husband comes home early from work and he wants to talk.  He tells you that he’s leaving because he has found somebody else that makes him happier.  He doesn’t want to discuss it because his mind is made up, so he packs his bags and leave.  He leaves you at the table devastated because your world has been turned upside down.  What do you do?  Do you retreat to your bed to cry for 2 weeks straight or do you fall down on your knees asking God to keep you, hold you, wipe your tears and show you the way? Now, you are wondering what you could have done to make him stay.  But I’m here to tell you that no matter what you did or didn’t do, this was a circumstance you had no control over, so why are you crying over the spilled milk?  What you need to do is, pick up the empty carton (you), wipe up the spilled milk (tears) and refill your carton (with God’s word) and move on! If they can walk away from you so easily without a second look, they weren’t yours to begin with and maybe, just maybe, they were standing in the way of the real blessing God has for you!  Be thankful for what you do have and not miserable over what is gone and watch God enlarge your territory.  And I know without a shadow of a doubt that God won’t bring you to anything that he won’t see you through.

This might not be your situation but maybe you’re in a situation where you’ve lost your job and no matter where you go you can’t seem to find one.  You’ve put in, what seems like, 100 applications and nothing has come through.  You and your family are staying with someone else and it’s just not working.  You can’t cook what you want, clean how you want or talk how you want because there is always somebody there.  But what can you do?  They always make it known that this isn’t your house and God, don’t you know it.  You’ve been praying to God and it seems like your prayers aren’t getting through.  Well, they are.  Psalm 34:15 say “The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cry.”  Baby, God hasn’t forgotten about you.  But if you are asking God to open up the windows of Heaven and send you down a blessing, you have to ask like you really want it, work like you already got it and shout like it’ll never come.  Don’t stop putting in job applications because no one is calling you back, it just means you haven’t filled out the right one.  Apply for some apartments that are based on your income until you find the right one.  Apply for government assistance and don’t be ashamed, that’s what it’s for.  There is no need of crying over the spilled milk (no job, no house, and no car) because crying won’t return those things.  Get up, pick up the carton (classifieds), wipe up the spilled milk (pity, sadness, I can’t do this/that) and refill it (by praying and believing) and get to moving.  James 2:26 says “Just as the body is dead without breath, so also faith is dead without good works.”

There isn’t a need to cry over stuff you can’t change and even if you could what are the tears for?  Don’t get me wrong, sometimes crying is good for the soul.  I say that tears are just liquid prayers when no words will come out but that doesn’t mean you need to cry over everything.  You’re crying because Christmas is coming and you don’t have the money to buy the kids what they want.  So what?  They probably got everything they’ve always wanted anyway and truth be told they don’t need nothing.  So what’s with the tears?  You’re crying because your job laid you off due to the decrease in work and their funds?  So what?  Go and apply for unemployment and get you some food stamps (you’ve been paying for them anyway) and enjoy the break over the holidays.  At the first of the year, go and get you the new job that the old one was blocking.  Have faith and then use faith.  My definition is Finding All Incentives That Help!

If the milk has been spilled clean it up because there is no sense walking around it because eventually it’ll dry up.  If you doubt God’s goodness, your milk is spilled.  Wipe it up and refill your carton with Matthew 8:26 that say “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?”  If you are sick and don’t think you can get well, your milk is spilled.  Wipe it up and refill your carton with Mark 10:52 that say “Go; your faith has made you well.” If you are questioning God, your milk is spilled.  Wipe it up and refill your carton with Ecclesiastes 3:1 that says “For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven.”  If you’re angry with God because you think he has forgotten you, your milk is spilled.  Wipe it up and refill your carton with Psalm 30:5 that say “For his anger endureth but a moment; in his favour is life: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.”  If you think that you are the only one facing problems, your milk is spilled.  Wipe it up and refill your carton with 2 Corinthians 4:17 that say “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”

1 Peter 1:3-9 sums it all up for me.  It says “What a God we have! And how fortunate we are to have him, this Father of our Master Jesus! Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we’ve been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven—and the future starts now! God is keeping careful watch over us and the future. The Day is coming when you’ll have it all—life healed and whole. I know how great this makes you feel, even though you have to put up with every kind of aggravation in the meantime. Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through this suffering comes out proved genuine. When Jesus wraps this all up, it’s your faith, not your gold that God will have on display as evidence of his victory. You never saw him, yet you love him. You still don’t see him, yet you trust him—with laughter and singing. Because you kept on believing, you’ll get what you’re looking forward to: total salvation.” (Message Bible)

Isn’t this great news?  Even though you’re suffering now, God says “I got a reward waiting for you that’ll make you forget all about your past troubles.”  Even though you’ve been lied on and talked about, God says “I’ve got a great reward stored up for you.”  Even though you’ve been thrown in the fire, God says “You won’t be burned because it’s only sealing in your goodness for you shall come out shining like pure gold.”  My faith! Your faith! Our faith! That’s all we need. I don’t know about you but the next time I want to cry over spilled milk, I’ll think before I do.  I can’t change things that I have no control over.  I can’t change folk because I didn’t create them.  I can’t change situations because it’s not for me too.  So, I’ll wipe up the spilled milk and refill my carton!