There is one piece of machinery in my house that I wear out yearly, and that's my clothes dryer. The ones here in Brazil are not built to withstand what I throw in them. If it is sunny outside, I hang out on the lines, but I live in the mountains where winters are cold and wet. Right now it is summer time here in the Southern Hemisphere, and we have had a lot of rain and overcast days. My clothes will hang for three days and never dry. Here recently every time I put a load into the dryer and turned it on, it would begin to squeal. At first, it was just a small squeal and after a few minutes would disappear. But over time, the noise became louder. I tried to ignore it but the pitch became so irritating that no one could stand it. My daddy didn't raise no dummy, so I got my toolbox out and took the dryer apart to see if I could fix it, but in the end it proved to be more than I could handle. I had to send it to the repair shop. They told me I had worn out a pulley, a belt and a bunch of other little things. It is costing me 350 bucks. If I had taken the dryer in when it first started squealing I could have saved myself a lot of money. But I chose to "try and make do" instead of acknowledging what needed to be done.
This past weekend I had us read John 19-21 for our Weekend Getaway. I don't know about you, but I can't read that passage of Scripture without tears. The account John gives of Mary Magdalene's moment in the garden with Jesus is remarkable. I love the way Jesus speaks her name and she recognizes Him.
All of us have a testimony of how God has saved us, or brought us out of a difficult situation. We know how it feels when His presence fills our hearts and He fellowships with us personally. Many words in the old hymns have been used to describe that sense of peace and communion, but there really isn't an adequate adjective to describe it is there? Can you think on a moment right now when you had that sweet fellowship? When you lingered at your prayer time and had to stop for more Kleenex while you read the Word? A hymn stayed on your lips throughout the day and you felt as though your heart was lighter than a feather?
What happens between those perfect days and the ones we normally have? Where is it that we go from Mary Magdalene in the garden to being a doubting Thomas, a betraying Peter, or a quitting Demas? Something has gotten out of whack somewhere along the way, like the squeal of my dryer was telling me something was wrong and needed to be fixed.
I believe it is an every day struggle. I don't believe for a second that one Christian has more at his or her disposal for their walk with God than the next. I believe we all have the entire Word and we all can walk with and know God. Otherwise you would have to conclude that God changes from one Christian to the next and we know that would be a lie! He doesn't change. We do. We let the sin in this world and the consequences of that sin speak louder than His proper Word does. We allow some new theologian to falsely parse the Scripture and cause us to doubt what we ALREADY know to be true. We go through a trial and decide it all isn't worth it and we lay down our sword and quit.
So, what can we do about it? Take it one day at a time. Let's deal with today. Right now. Nothing stands between you and a right relationship with God, but YOU. I don't care if you are behind prison bars, sitting in the divorce court, nursing a newborn, waiting on your chemo to be over, or heading to the funeral home today to make plans, you CAN immediately be 100% right with God. You just have to come to terms with your sin or doubt and acknowledge it to God. Here is a hint: He already knows.
Jesus knew who Mary was seeking that day in the garden. He knew why she wept. But He asked her about it because He wanted her to acknowledge it.
John 20:15-16 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
God wants us to get to know Him. He doesn't hold Himself back and play hide and go seek with us. He is available and wants us to heed His Words and fellowship with Him. No, every day won't be a peaceful beautiful walk on the outside, but it can be on the inside and that is what we should strive for!
I know life isn't fair. I know things get us down and hurt us beyond what we think we are capable of handling. But God knows it too! He wants to go through it all WITH you! He isn't against you unless you are living in wickedness. His ears are open to your prayers as long as you aren't making vain repetitions and lying to Him. So, why not just close up this blog and pray. Pray right where you are at. Tell God your sins, repent of it all and ask Him to restore that sweet fellowship to you. He will because He cannot break His promises to us.
Proverbs 28:13 He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
Tomorrow you will need to take inventory of your life yet again. If you mess up somewhere along the way today, you will need to tell God about it. Seek what HE says to do about it and do it. Maintain that fellowship. And don't think for a minute that I am not writing to myself and expressing to my own heart what Sheri needs to do. I am on this earth with you. I battle the world and it's call everyday. I get spiritually lazy on the mission field and have to call in a Specialist to fix my heart problems just like the next guy. When I ignore the "squealing" it gets me into bigger trouble too. It takes maintenance people. So, let's keep up our regularly scheduled appointments with God and let's not forget He is the Master and can care of us better than anything or anyone else can!
Until next time, Lord willing,
Sheri
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