simmer and the better thing

God pressed a strange word on my heart during my quiet time this morning. While my eyes pretended to still be sleeping and I sipped coffee, I began my morning prayer with thoughts of gratitude toward small blessings. I sat snuggled in my blanket listing things like cinnamon coffee, rest, the warm chili we had eaten the night before – even though it didn’t have a lot of flavor, maybe it was the new spice I tried – but, Lord, I remain thankful even though I guess I did wrong-

God interrupted my gratitude with the word Simmer.
“Toni, you don’t simmer.”

I sat for a minute in quiet acknowledgement. Probably, wide eyed and yet kind of blank faced like I tend to do when some truth renders me speechless.

And this is truth.

I’m not a simmer person. I skip that step. It’s a personal preference usually mandated by time restrictions or my own impatience. Using last night as an example, I ran in from work knowing I had to cook, eat and leave in an hour. Therefore, dinner prep consisted of only a few steps: brown, dump, stir, and serve.

Brown the meat. Dump the seasoning. Stir the pot. Serve the stuff.  TA-DAH!

And the chili tasted fine. At least it rendered the main idea of chili. But truthfully, because I hadn’t let the dish simmer, the flavor of all the spices remained unlocked and not ignited.

But God’s whisper this morning wasn’t just talking about my cooking skills. The point of the whisper was to notify me how often I skip the simmer step with good ideas and actions as well.

So, many times I get a brainstorm – and it’s an idea for “thing” to do. A good thing. Something to bless others or love like Jesus.
I’ll get excited and run ahead.
All action and planning.
NO SIMMER. NO sitting with Jesus and His Word. No just sitting in silence. And too often, No listening for the best next steps while I’m in action full speed ahead.

I’m not the only one of God’s people guilty of not simmering.

Nope. Too often God’s people will catch the glimpse of a good thing, and take off alone using their own creativity, wisdom, energy, resources and follow-through.

And the result:
Sometimes the good things or good ideas flop and fail right from the start.
Other times, they work beautifully for a bit. Then gradually and eventually they begin to wind down or wind up and out of control due to wrong timing, lack of resources, or just the inability to sustain the good thing in our own power.

And I truly believe a good idea either whispered by Holy Spirit or fostered from simply good intentions can be used by God in remarkable ways. Because good is good, and God is God. He can do anything. However, the real blessing in blessing others comes once we realize we must Simmer.

We must give Jesus space to work. We must allow Him to unlock the timing, to set things in motion, or in place. In the Simmer, Jesus either ignites the hearts of people to receive Him, or He will ignite your own heart to sustain the better thing He is trying to do with you and through you.

But honestly, God’s people jump and skip over the simmer. Too many times we accomplish something good, but we just can’t achieve the better because our schedules become chaotic, our souls become frustrated with conflicting emotions, and exhaustion settles in for a nap cuddling discouragement like a sad, worn teddy bear.

And we don’t understand, because we are sure of what we heard. Because it was a good idea.
Because it was good for others. Then we either walk away completely frustrated trying to discern which step or which person derailed our good plan, or we shrug it off saying,
“It just wasn’t meant to be.”
No harm. No foul. No accountability. No growth.

All too often we fail to look back and honestly ask God to show us what really happened.

It’s time to try the better thing.
Simmer equals surrender. Simmer says to God, I’m all in and I want to do it Your way for Your glory.
Simmer creates a sustaining endurance and connects your soul to an unbelievable amount of
-Well, I don’t even know what to call it.
It’s not just patience, because you will still be tried.
Life is tough.
It’s not just empathy, because you will still be stretched.
We must grow.
Ant it’s not just joy, because – well- see the above sentences about being tried and stretched.

I guess when it comes to it, I believe sitting in the Simmer connects us to an unbelievable amount of God.

And that connection will always be the better thing.