The Old TV Set

We have this human thing that wants to see and judge the finished picture. And we tend to judge the outcome of the finished picture by what we see along the way.

The other day, I decided to get an old TV set down off a basement shelf and try it out. This was an old tube-type (no transistors) black-and-white set. It hadn’t been used in years, and I was curious.

Have you ever watched an old tube television set warm up? You turn it on and you wait! And then the sound comes first. Then the tiniest dot of a picture gradually spreads to fill the screen, and then it focuses to reveal lifelike forms that are easily recognized.

There happened to be a Cardinal baseball game on, and the sound announced, “It‘s a homerun!” But I couldn’t SEE IT! By the time the picture appeared, I had missed the homer. Thank goodness for present day instant replay, because they showed it again.

Do you remember what it was like waiting for all this to happen? You sit on the edge of your chair, muttering to yourself, fidgeting uselessly with the knobs, but the picture will come only when it is ready to come. Meddling with the mechanics you know so little about can only hinder the arrival of that awaited picture. So finally you resign yourself to the fact that you’ve done all you can to bring the picture by simply turning the set on. Knowing that it is connected to the power, it is best to just stretch out in your recliner and watch the image appear before your eyes.

You are reading this because, like myself, you have to some degree an inner desire, an expectant yearning, to see the picture of completion - the answer to all questions - the appeasement of your insatiable inquisitiveness. So do I have to explain my example? Have you learned, as I have, to stop trying to bring the picture in yourself, much less attempt to aid the supplying power?

I recently shared with a friend that both the greatest ASSET and the largest OBSTACLE to my everyday Christian life is my MIND! First, I was spurred on by a mysterious knowledge that there was more than the up and down life I experienced as a Christian. Then when confronted in later life by the truth of the new birth in Christ, the same mind wanted to dissect it, figure out how it worked, and control it by mastering its secret power.

Which brings me around to my theme - God meant it all for good. Two favorite verses point this out: in Genesis 50:20, Joseph said that in everything bad that happened to him, God meant it for good. And in Romans 8:28, Paul says that everything works together for good in Christians.

For it was the mind of Christ in me the entire time, providing me with precisely what was needed, molding me to the point where I could recognize and begin to lean on and trust in the guidance of Christ from within - where I could see some promised conformity to the image of His Son!

You ask me if I really believe that every question asked, every doctrine studied, every dead-end faced, every door opened was His perfect way to guide me to my present awareness, rather than me thwarting His divine efforts of grace. My answer is that I know it was all as He planned! It was necessary for me to spend time (not waste time) spinning dials in vain, for only then could I be convinced of the futility in doing it, and be cornered into giving up all self-effort. The feeling and the will of independence had to be broken, and mine was just as strong as anyone else’s.

So I‘m not one to complain about “wasted years”. There are no such things. Even the vilest offender, acknowledging forgiveness on his deathbed, cannot justifiably suggest that God “should have come sooner,” nor reason that his life drenched in sin prevented an omnipotent God from gaining a previous entrance. How absurd! The released, manifest power of God through the Holy Spirit is irresistible. When we see God in total control, we not only are seeing the focused picture, but also are gaining incredible insight for those around us.

Knowing (not just believing) that “God means it for good” releases us from the habitual attempt at manipulation of circumstances to avoid “bad” results. There is no more need for frustration over a prodigal brother or sister, for we can release the power of God into instant manifestation by simply acknowledging that God is accomplishing whatever He desires. What a release! It is clearly much more pleasant in my recliner viewing the finished picture than it was on the edge of my chair struggling to produce it myself.

WHEN YOU REALIZE, IN FAITH, THAT YOU CONTAIN THE ANSWER, THEN ALL QUESTIONS BECOME IRRELEVANT. EVEN UNDERSTANDING THE MECHANICS INVOLVED IS A MERE TECHNICALITY.

Let me offer this, however, if it can help you to gain some insight into the matter. Before we even turned the TV set on, we took it for granted that the sound and picture waves were already in the air. Does anyone test the electricity or call up the station to inquire if they’re transmitting before turning on the set? By similar reasoning, does anyone turn on a TV if he knows that there is no electricity or if there are no transmissions being made? So you see that there is an act of faith involved in turning the set on. That allows the power to flow uninterrupted and produce the manifestation for you to see.

But, you say, it requires little faith to turn on a television and expect a picture to appear. We don’t even give thought to the waves in the air – we know they’re there. And so it can be with God. Each begging prayer we make, asking Him to awaken to our needs, is calling the station to see if it is still transmitting! That’s their job, so leave it to them.

God’s “job” is to supply - so why question if He’s still in operation? He has promised that He knows our needs in advance, and has the exact supply for us before we even know we need it! DON’T BEG – JUST ACKNOWLEDGE!

You don’t like the picture that you see? Believe (or better yet - know) that He means it for good, and even though you can’t discern the mechanics of the plot, don’t try to install your own plan. I tell you this not because I ‘m afraid you may interfere with God’s working - that’s impossible! I only want to prevent you from further frustration which is exactly what you’ll experience. I can heartily attest to that. (But guess what? - God meant even that for good.

I‘m not saying that you have to “like” every picture before you. And everything that happens around you is not “God’s will”. There are spiritual forces attempting to distort the picture - spiritual “static”, if you will. But what you must see and accept is that no matter how bad things may seem, the situation is not ever beyond God’s turning it for good. A Christian is a child in His Family. As Jesus said, if a weak human father still does good things for his children, think what an all powerful Father God can do to ultimately make good things happen for His children.

Do you see it? Are you ready to sit down in faith and patiently watch the picture? Do you finally recognize the awesome God that encompasses the airwaves? It is all so elementary. A child’s mind can comprehend and accept it, but for some reason we must make it complicated. BUT EVEN THE COMPLICATION IS GOD’S PROVEN WAY OF BREAKING THROUGH TO MOST OF US.

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