Call the Plumber

Read |1 Peter 5: 6 - 7|

Today is a big day! To say that it was long awaited would be a lie. Though, to say that it was long necessary would be true. Today is the day the Superintendent of my building will come to fix my bathtub. As I write this, my bathtub stands full of water unable to drain. It was a long time coming. The signs were clear. At the start of last month, I noticed that the water proudly flowed from the shower head, but only shyly exited the drain. But, however unpleasant this was, it wasn't bad enough to move me to action. I can live with this, I thought. Well, almost "suddenly", the condition I found livable became a huge problem--one that came to interrupt my way of life. Clearly, it was time to call the plumber. Yet, I did not. Instead, I got my toolbox, pulled out my screwdriver, removed the drain cover and attempted to remove the debris causing the blockage. After removing quite a bit of debris, I put everything back in its place and heard in my head the most enthusiastic drumroll......VOILA!  I turned on the shower and nothing moved. In fact, where there had been only a small pool of water, there was now an ocean. In that moment, our Father who never misses a teaching opportunity, opened my eyes to see how my approach to my tub was sometimes my approach to life.

Beloved, how frequently do we overlook the small aching of our hearts, because we can cope? We go about our days treating it as a common distraction--pressing ahead without pause. And how focused we seem in our own eyes. But, all along, the little ache grows because we think it too small to consider. It grows until it comes to infringe on our pretending. And when pretending becomes too difficult, we buckle down and be "brave". We apply our minds to fixing it on our own--and that never ends well. It always ends in the same place: with our time and strength wasted and our hearts frustrated. But, thanks be to God, that from the soil of crisis He is able to bring forth opportunity (Romans 8: 28). Opportunity to see our need for Him. Opportunity to receive His care.

​Sometimes the best way to see up is by being down. On the ground we come to remember our humble beginnings as dust. On the ground we come to remember how He made our form with His hands (Genesis 2: 6 - 8). On the ground we come to remember that it is He who has made us and not we ourselves (Psalm 100: 3). On the ground we taste the fate that was ours before His precious sacrifice (Genesis 3: 19). On the ground we remember that He is the breath of our very lives (Genesis 2: 7). On the ground we remember we need God. On the ground is where the sweetness of His embrace cannot be escaped. It is where He says, "Will you let me help you?" (1 Peter 5: 6 - 7).

Beloved, if you find yourself at the point of frustration today, take heart! Take heart and pray. Take heart and turn it all over to Him. And remember when your heart begins to ache, no matter how small, bring it to Jesus. Invite Him into the small places. The places you are tempted to believe you can handle on your own. He will never despise the one whose hope is in Him (Psalm 25: 3). Your vulnerability will always be met with His great care. 

Dear Heavenly Father, we acknowledge our need for you. We invite you into every part of our hearts to establish your perfect reign. We trust you for all our todays and tomorrows. In Jesus' name, amen.