Details do matter. This morning, I put a load of clothes in the dryer and when it "buzzed", I headed in to get them out and discovered they were not dry. Hmmm. I must have forgotten to hit the magic "start" button. Tried again and this time when the dryer "buzzed", I went in expecting to start ironing promptly. But again, the clothes were not dry and this had me near panic thinking the heating element had gone out on the machine.
And then it dawned on me, I had last used the machine to "dust" bedspreads by putting them through air/fluff cycles. I had indeed left the dryer setting on air/fluff and no heat was circulating. Changing the setting has worked and the clothes are now drying efficiently.
Details do matter. It is easy to get bogged down by them, but there is a balance and it is that balance that we need to seek in our lives. I walked through my living room yesterday and noticed a sizable crack in the wall. Further examination revealed a similar crack in a wall in the stairwell and some "buckling" in two other walls. Obviously, this is not a small problem and the detail involved is finding the source of the problem to correct it. However, I am not going to let finding the details and solving this to become a detail of my life. I have bigger fish to fry. While I cannot ignore this situation, I am resolved not to let it overshadow other details of my life.
I need to be ministering to others around me, and I cannot do that if I am dwelling on the insignificant things in my life. I have a home I enjoy in an area I love. It may not be perfect, and it may have some cracks in the wall, but it also allows me to host groups any time I choose for fun and games inside and out. So I am claiming this verse as my own and endeavoring to cling to its message:
Philippians 4:8
Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
I have been reading the blog of a remarkable young man this week. Though it is a true blog - a pouring out of thoughts, feelings and events in his life, I am reading it as a devotional because of his amazing insight into the Word of God and the Person of our Savior. I know he did not write it to be a devotional, but perhaps one day he will rework it and publish it. In the meantime, I was hit by his wisdom today in the following excerpt:
Hebrews 12:1-3
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Consider this verse. Not only should we throw off anything that entangles and run our race with perseverance, but our eyes should be fixed upon Christ. The cross is the solution to all of life's problems. It was not only the death of God's Son, but also the death of all our failures, iniquities and hopelessness. There is nothing on earth that we could ever go through that the cross is not powerful enough to overcome.
-N.E.R.
WOW! I am guilty of forgetting that all of my failures, iniquities and hopelessness are dead to me. I am free of those burdens as long as I fix my gaze on Christ. That is complete freedom. If you do not have that freedom, I would love to share with you how it can be yours.
