A Day of Fasting....and a Pot Roast

I'm trying to get a grip on my day and decided to throw a roast in the crock pot while I do some much needed cleaning. It's so nice to have the meal ready and the house smells delicious all day. The smell has reminded me of a funny little story about temptation.

I grew up in a small town, went to a small church, and when we planned to hold a revival and host a visiting preacher, my parents volunteered a room in our house. By that time, the larger rooms at the front of the house were in use by the family, and the guest room was the cozy little hideout at the top of the kitchen stairs. Mom fixed it up as nicely as she could and when the pastor arrived, he was pleased and said so. The location soon proved to be problematic in a way we'd never even imagined.

Preacher Man's practice was to spend the first day of the revival in fasting and prayer and informed my mother that she had no need to prepare anything for him all day long. He'd have some water, but that was it. Mom agreed and thought having guests couldn't get any easier. She did have to feed the rest of us though, so put a roast in the crock pot and went off to work.

Well, the day progressed and the smell began to waft up the stairs from the kitchen, directly into the little room being occupied by Preacher Man. He was on his knees, fervently praying or trying to pray and boy, was he hungry. Temptation....in the form of succulent roasting beef....was literally knocking at his door, but he didn't give in. He later told my parents it was the longest day of his life, and when he finally ate with the family, we all had to chuckle.

In talking to a friend yesterday, we commented how easily we are distracted from the very things we have decided to complete, whether it be cleaning the house, paying the bills, or spending quiet time with the Lord. I'm reminded how Preacher Man had temptation knock yet he ignored it and went on with his work. While my roast scents up my home today, I'm going to do those things I've set out to do and enjoy a meal and completed projects tonight.

Colossians 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men,