“Houston, we have a problem!”

OK, that’s not what I said.

“Sulojana, we have a problem!”

“What is it?”

“I can’t open the drawer at the base of the stove to get out the skillet that I need to make the omelette.”

“I’ll be right there.”

Onions sliced? Check.

Mushrooms ready? Check.

Spinach cut? Check.

Eggs beaten? Check.

Olive Oil handy? Check.

Skillet? Nyet.

So I did what any man would do under the circumstances. I applied the most brutish force I could muster and tried to pull the drawer open. No cigar. I even mimicked the feminine touch and jiggled it gently in between manly pulls. Still no change.

Enter Sulojana.

“Just move over.” (The tone said: Get out of my way RIGHT NOW!)

“OK.”

I stood back to observe what would surely be an ancient Indian technique for opening jammed drawers at the base of an electrical stove that had been handed down through the generations in her family. What kind of finesse would it take? Perhaps jiggling sideways was not the answer. She’ll probably move it up and down and get it open. Or she might simply lay hands on it and pray. Maybe her breakthrough anointing will kick in.  

Well, it did in a way…but not with the laying on of hands. As a matter of fact, she did not even bend down an inch or make any attempt to use her hands.

Instead, she drew near to the stove and gave the drawer a swift kick with her right foot. Bingo! The drawer opened. She handed me the skillet with a smug look on her face. I let out the weakest hallelujah I’ve ever whimpered.

What was so readily obvious to her became apparent to me at that moment. Somehow the pots had been positioned in such a way that they prevented the drawer from being opened. Once she gave the boot, there was a realignment in the drawer that pushed the offending vessel out of the way. With no obstacle to impede its movement, the drawer opened meekly with the simple tug of a lady’s fingers.

All I could do was shake my head in puzzled amazement.

In Daniel 4, we see how God had to apply a swift kick in the pots to a boastful king named Nebuchadnezzar. In verses 29 and 30 we read: As the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, “Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?”

What happened right afterwards? He was driven away from people and ate grass like the ox. His body was drenched with the dew of heaven until his hair grew like the feathers of an eagle and his nails like the claws of a bird. (v. 33)

It was only as he raised his eyes toward heaven that his sanity was restored (v. 34). The swift kick caused a re-alignment in his thought process and turned him around.

Dear DWOD friend, this may sound harsh, but there are times when you could be so caught up in your misguided priorities that the only way God can open closed doors is by giving you a swift kick in the pots.

I must admit that I’ve experienced the right foot of God more than once in my life. Although it was not what I wanted at the moment, it was exactly what I needed.

Perhaps it has happened to you already. Would you share your experience(s) with the rest of your DWOD family?