Drilling Diary - Day Two

Day two of drilling went better than day one…even though it didn’t really start off that way. The fix to our day one problems did not work as well as we had hoped. The new connections we manufactured were not as secure as we had hoped and the round pipe that we wanted to use was actually too heavy for what we were trying to do. We tried a new idea and it didn’t work.

At this point, our team has three options: 1) go back to the inferior metal and find a way to make it work, 2) try to come up with a new solution, or 3) give up and quit. Well, #3 really was not an option and with the limited material resources available to us neither was #2, so that just left us one option.

In order for the inferior metal to work it would demand patience on our part. We could not put as much stress and strain on the metal as we would like, so our progress would end up being slower than we would like. It would be a time consuming process as we would continually have to change the size of the tool that we were using to drill the hole. It was not going to be an ideal situation.

But guess what? We worked the plan, we stuck with it and we were able to dig down an additional 17’ today. Praise God! While we have not yet struck water, we have been able to overcome every obstacle thus far. Obviously, we would have loved to have found the water by now, but even so, our spirits are still high.

In my own life, when I encounter a difficult situation, I often try to bullrush my way to a solution. Patience and finesse – the two qualities most needed by our team today as we dug for water – are not usually in my arsenal. The end result is that I end up even more frustrated than when I started.

Yet in those Spirit-led moments of lucidity, when I choose to be patient and wait on God, situations tend to resolve themselves or solutions to problems become apparent. Often the key to moving forward is to be patient and gentle, rather than putting your head down and pushing forward with all of your might.

What obstacle are you facing in your life right now? What roadblock has been put in your path that you are finding difficult to navigate around? Have you prayed about them? Have you made demands on God for a solution? Whose schedule are you on? Yours or God’s? A friend and mentor of mind once said: “I know God’s timing is perfect. I just wish he would loan me his watch.” God is always faithful and if we are listening to the Holy Spirit and we are obedient, then the solution that brings God the most glory will be revealed.

Soli Deo gloria.

Michael

Author’s note: I probably will not be posting for the next day or so. We are traveling to see some of God’s beautiful creation and creatures within Malawi and I will not have access to the internet until at least Sunday night. My next post will probably be after we resume drilling on Monday.