“Powerful is your arm! Strong is your hand! Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.”
–Psalm 89:13 (NLT)
Life is like a tube you might find in a drawer at midnight. You never know what will come out until pressure is applied.
A lot of you have been squeezed hard by the tube of life, and I believe God wants to encourage you today. But if you can’t see the tube, it’s a whole different story.
I am qualified to tell you about two of my adventures on a physical level, but more importantly, we also need to see what God has to say on a spiritual level. So let’s aproach things from a strictly physical point of view first, and then move on to the spiritual.
My first adventure happened when I was trying to find some toothpaste one morning. After fumbling around for a while, I finally located a little tube like you might take to a motel. But its contents tasted terrible, and I couldn’t get that flavor out of my mouth fast enough.
That tube turned out to be my wife’s foot cream. I did what any good husband would do–I blamed her.
“Why did you leave this on the counter?” I snapped. But I soon had to eat my words when I found out the tube was on her side of the sink all along, and I shouldn’t have been sniffing around there anyway.
Let’s just say I have learned to keep my hands away from her belongings the hard way. But that didn’t prepare me for situation number 2.
A few years later, I told my wife I was looking for some toothpaste. After searching through the cupboards, she handed me a large box with a tube of something inside. My reasoning went something like this: It feels like toothpaste so it has to be toothpaste, right?
But a second after popping it into my mouth, I wished I hadn’t been so trusting. We once had a saying around our house: Stephanie is always right. But from then on, I began to question that logic.
To say that my taste buds’ findings woke me up was an understatement. Instead of a nice minty flavor like I expected, it tasted just like tomato sauce! I couldn’t help thinking, “Boy, these grocery people are really getting hard up!” Once again, the only satisfaction I got out of that escapade was blaming my wife.
Now let’s move on to the spiritual level, as these stories and our walk with Christ have a lot in common. The key word that binds them together is “pressure,” which is something we can all relate to. But whatever pressure you are going through today, and however much you are being squeezed, God wants to walk beside you. Since most of us know this on an intellectual level, though, let me share this with you in closing.
If you have been around a blind person for any length of time, you have probably seen them take someone’s arm so that they can be led somewhere. Whether it’s after midnight or you naturally can’t see anything, I think you’ll agree that running into walls or doors is no fun.
The point is that we all run into walls which God wants to guide us around. Aren’t you glad that He is greater than any obstacles we face?
In the Bible, God’s arm stands for His strength and power. But the problem comes when we don’t let Him guide us. I have run into many obstacles by needlessly trying to assert my independence. But spiritually speaking, isn’t that what each of us sometimes does?
Instead of taking God’s arm by asking Him for wisdom and searching His Word, we often look at life from a purely rational viewpoint. We figure that if it looks like toothpaste, it must be toothpaste. Then when whe end up in the tomato sauce of our own making, we tend to blame God.
We all need His strength in a greater way to get through this life, because if God is for us, who can be against us? So if you know Him today, walk with God by making Him your lifeline. And if you don’t know Him, grabb ahold of His arm, as there could never be a better friend.
Thank you for reading this, and may the Lord give you a wonderful week! We are trying to reach people who are hurting, so if God lays it on your heart, please consider becoming a partner with us. If you would like to make a donation, please visit www.mynvm.com and click on the PayPal button.
Finally, you’re always welcome to join our Tuesday night Bible study. These studies are conducted by conference call, and they take place at 5:30 PM Arizona time. Our conference number is 313-209-8800. Our PIN is 8699032. We hope to talk with you soon!
If you have questions, comments or prayer requests for Timothy or Stephanie Burdick, please call 507-369-6861.