Monday Morning Devotion-March 25, 2019

Needing a Nudge

*Reprint from May 11, 2015

Jesus said to her, "Woman, what does this have to do with me?  My hour has not yet come."     John 2:4 ESV

            A nudge is a gentle push or shove.  Could even be a little poke.  Maybe it is not even physical, more like a verbal action.  You may nudge someone with a gentle reminder.  "Honey didn't you say you were going to take out the trash today."

            Harking back to the miracle of turning the water into wine.  The first miracle performed by Jesus.  He was nudged into it.  His mother, Mary, kinda gave Him a little shove into that one.  Jesus resisted because once the miracle code was cracked as Mark Batterson (The Grave Robber) says, "Jesus knew that first miracle would trigger the countdown clock to the crucifixion."

            When we are being nudged to do something we sometimes resist, maybe not because it is such a hard thing to do, but because we fear that it might lead to another nudge-worthy opportunity for the nudger.

            So, you take out the trash and…"Oh, hon, while you are out there would you bring that big empty box in with you."  Sure.  You are glad to do that little task.  Hey, it's empty.  Couldn't be too heavy.  No problem.

            You bring it in and, "Say, I wonder if you could help me sort through these books and pictures that we are not using and put them in that box."  Then, of course that is followed by taking the fully loaded box back to the garage. The nudges can continue ad infinitum.

            OK, so all of that was a gross exaggeration and it is definitely not directed toward any person that you or I know.  It was just to make a point that one little nudge can lead to even bigger accomplishments.

            Think of all the miracles of Jesus that got their start when His mother nudged him into doing that first one before he was even ready.

            Batterson says sometimes it is harder to believe God for a miracle for ourselves than it is to believe God for a miracle for others.  So we need to borrow faith from someone else's bank. By nudging someone else into action we might provide the impetus for something really great to happen.

            Although I am not a fan of this TV program…in fact I don't watch a lot of shows on TV…movies yes, sports absolutely, just not a lot of programs.  Burned out on those back in the "Dallas" and "Falconcrest Days."  Don't want to be trapped into thinking I just have to see a certain program every week.  All right, I will admit that I did watch and enjoy "Downton Abbey."  And a few others have caught my fancy over time, but these are only once a week for a couple of months. If I have something else to do I can always DVR-an episode.

            Anyway the program I was going to mention is Duck Dynasty.  That got its start, at least the name did, from a duck hunting foray.  Phil Robertson was doing his best duck call which was very effective at flushing those ducks out of the duck blind.  His friend said, "Wow you didn't call those ducks you commanded them."  That's when he began to be called Duck Commander and the Duck Dynasty show followed.  It just took a little nudge from a friend to trigger an idea that has had an appeal to thousands of people. (The Grave Robber, pg. 56.)

            So rather than waiting for someone to nudge you into doing something big, maybe you need to nudge someone else into achieving a miracle.

            In the movie "Million Dollar Baby" Maggie Fitzgerald, played by  Hilary Swank, who won an Oscar as Best Actress, is a waitress who wants to pursue her dream of becoming a boxing champion.  She begins working out at a run-down old Los Angeles gym run by an old "cantankerous boxing trainer" Frankie Dunn played by Clint Eastwood.

            It is Maggie's wish to get Frankie to train her to become a boxer and she works out every day at his gym.  Frankie continually tells her that he doesn't train girls and refuses to consider it. He even tries to give her money back and discourage her from working out at the gym.  Every time he walks past her he just shakes his head and mutters because it is obvious that she doesn't know what she is doing.

            Finally it all comes to a head as Frankie walks past her and sees her making the same mistakes.  He has heard it is her birthday and thinks he can nudge her into giving up this idea by telling her, again, that she is too old.  But, Maggie nudges back.  Here's what she said:

            "I am thirty-three, Mr. Dunn. And I'm here celebrating the fact that I spent another year scrapin' dishes and waitressin,' , which is what I been doing since thirteen. And according to you, I'll be thirty-seven before I can even throw a decent punch - which, after working this speed bag for months and getting' nowhere, I now realize may be God's simple truth.  The other truth is, my brother's in prison, my sister cheats on welfare by pretendin' on eof her babies is still alive, my daddy's dead and my momma weighs three hundred and twelve pounds.  And if I was thinking straight I'd go back home find a used trailer, buy a deep fryer and some Oreos.  Problem is this is the only thing I ever felt good doin'.  If I'm too old for this, then I got nothing else.  That enough truth to suit you?"

            Wow that was a pretty powerful nudge wasn't it?  An Academy Award winning nudge. Guess what it accomplished?  Yep, the old "I-don't-train-girls-trainer" becomes Maggie's trainer.  Even though the rest of this story has some real highs in it there are some very sad scenes that may offend some viewers.  However, the point here is to illustrate that sometimes the greatest effect of a nudge is not when you are nudged into doing something yourself, but when you grab the initiative to nudge someone else into taking an action.

            Yep, the story of Maggie's nudge of the reluctant trainer actually nudged Million Dollar Baby into four Academy Awards: Best Picture of 2004; Best Supporting Actor (Morgan Freeman) and Eastwood won the Best Director award and of course Swank, a relative unknown, was the Best Actress.

            Nudges can be powerful.  So, look for somebody to nudge.  Could be your spouse, a child, a friend or someone barely known to you.  And be alert.  Someone just might nudge you into greatness.  The Lord often works in mysterious ways.

Monday Prayer:  Thank you for the many times you nudge us into action.  Your plan is always the best, so help us to be alert for your God-directed nudges.   Amen!

Author's note: Thanks to Lakeshore Entertainment Malpaso Productions and Warner Brothers Pictures for making the screenplay available to the public.  Especially for up and coming screen writers to learn from.