Part Two: Don’t Blow Up the Chicken

“Do not quench the Spirit.” 1 Thessalonians 5:19

The house was smelling amazing. My homecooked chicken dinner was in the oven and all of the seasonings were making their presence known to our noses.

I looked at my wife on the couch. We were watching the news and she smiled at me. I love cooking for her.

“Smells amazing, can’t wait!” I smiled as she got up to do something down the hallway. I went into the kitchen and looked in at my chicken and vegetables in the glass baking dish. It looked a bit dry.

“Honey? Do we have any chicken broth?” My wife responded there was some in the fridge.

I retrieved the broth and poured two cups into a glass. Opening the oven door, I removed the tinfoil that was covering the chicken and began to pour the broth into the pan. It was dry, but now it was really going to taste good and…

KABOOOOM! The pan suddenly exploded and blew out all over the 400 degree oven. Vegetables, broth, and glass fell to the bottom of the oven, sending a huge plume of smoke and steam into the kitchen.

I stumbled backwards, realizing my error immediately. 400 degree glassware and cold chicken broth…kaboom.

My wife came running down the hall as I reached over and shut the oven off. What a mess! A nightmare! Our meal ruined. All that hard work wasted. Why, Lord?

Because you made a big mistake, son.

Own it. That’s what I had to do. I spent the next hour disassembling and deep cleaning the oven. My wife went and got us quesadillas from a local Mexican joint…a slight consolation, but I was grateful no glass shattered into my face.

It’s not every day you blow up a chicken, and just yesterday the Lord showed me the spiritual lesson. Here it is:

The Holy Spirit wants to lead Christians to do God’s will. God wants to prepare eternal things that look, taste, and smell good to His kingdom…and He uses Christians to accomplish those good works on Earth.

If we’re not careful, pride can interfere with God’s work and we can disrupt/interrupt what He’s trying to accomplish. It’s not good to throw wrenches in the gears of God, or buckets of water on the fire of the Holy Spirit…that’s like cold broth quenching a 400 degree glass pan.

I need to do only what God has called me to do and leave others to do their part for the Lord. Let the fire of God burn in you brightly, but let God work His fire in others as He sees fit.

The moment we judge that God isn’t “cooking the chicken” properly and we alter His recipe, we quench the Holy Spirit and KABOOOM!

Don’t blow up the chicken, my friends. The Holy Spirit knows the exact recipe for your success…may we follow Him to the letter in accordance with God’s Word. Wait on His timing and avoid the unnecessary messes and cleanup.

P.S. The picture shows the pan shattered and only the chicken is holding it together. Most of the glass and vegetables were already cleaned off the bottom. It looked like Beirut in there previously…but God is still good!