This week the chapter" Fault Lines". Those little places in our life, ways of thinking or situations that have a way of getting to our weak spots. Our Achilles's heal. Reading this chapter, I have so many thoughts running through my head, I don't know where to start, so if this seems a bit jumbled, sorry.
What immediately came to mind was the picture of cracked pavement. I have a friend with a cracked patio. There is one crack in a large slab of cement. The rest of that patio is solid. You could throw anything at it and it wouldn't get through. In fact depending on what you dropped or threw, it would probably damage that item instead. But in this large solid, impenetrable surface is this crack. If something was to get into that crack and settle, or start to grow, after time that vulnerable spot would get larger, the foundation underneath would be effected and weakened by whatever was growing or multiplying underneath and eventually the whole slab of what was once a solid surface is compromised.
This happens in out life as well. You can be completely solid, have a firm foundation and be capable of taking whatever is thrown at you! But there's that fault line. That place where evil can get in and use something to start the breakdown of your foundation. It would be a comment by someone that strikes one of your insecurities, it could be the lack of an acknowledgement from someone that makes you think you're insignificant. The author put it very well when she said, "These are the very places Satan searches for when he prowls around "like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8) Because when the enemy can't storm the gate of our salvation, he looks for a break in the wall, even the tiniest crack. A weak spot he can exploit." I also believe that evil can not only attack us, but through that attack, block something that may bring someone closer to God. But I'll get to that later.
Back to the cement. In doing research on what to do with the crack in the patio, my friend was told by a professional, that the crack could be patched. If it was cleaned out and filled with a calk like material, it would prevent things from getting in and compromising the rest of the cement. We need to let God to be that calking! That material that is soft and pliable, that doesn't hurt the surrounding area, but fills and protects that fault line that may otherwise fill with weeds or termites. I think so many times we try to fix things ourselves only to come up with something that resembles something Macgyver would come up with instead of letting the professional handle it. We have our duct tape, paperclips, rope, bubble gum, whatever we can find. Of course there are no instructions or experience. But we got this!! As I would say as a child, and still struggle with mentally, is "self do it!" No help needed here. Lean the "men at work" sign against the garbage can and I'm ready to go. The whole time we are slaving over that fault line, chewing up the gum to stick in the crack, perhaps placing the paperclips in the crack to give it some form of structure in the soft gum mess and of course covering it all in a healthy amount of duct tape, God is standing on the side with a single calking gun just waiting for us to turn it over to him. You would think by now that we would know that he can do a better fix and in half the time. We just have to let him.
So, I made the statement that I believe that evil can not only attack us, but through that attack, block something that may bring someone closer to God. The experience I've had with this was a physical one. Not too many people have heard this story, but around 2000 is when I started playing the guitar. I met our pastor and some others at our church once a week for a lesson/jam session as well as teaching myself at home. I really felt like I was supposed to use this talent for God. I was talking to my friend one Sunday who happened to be the one in charge of the youth at the time and found out they wanted to start doing middle school worship on Sunday mornings separate from the high school, but didn't have anyone to lead. I thought, well, that's an open door from God if I ever saw one! So I said I'd do it. That following week, before I was ever able to lead worship, both my wrists were in extreme pain. I couldn't work, I couldn't put any pressure on my hands, I couldn't hold anything or do anything without pain. I went to the doctor, had x-rays, they sent me to a specialist and the only diagnosis they could come up with was severe rheumatoid arthritis in both my wrists. I was 20 year old. I was in wrist braces for two weeks. So on Sunday morning, I was sitting in the middle school room with both my braces on, unable to play guitar. The leader asked if they could pray for me and I said yes. Then all the kids got up, surrounded me, laying hands on me and prayed. Laying hands on someone was not something out church really did, so it was kind of unexpected. After that I went home. Nothing had changed instantly. But, the next day there was less pain and the next even less. By Wednesday I was out of the braces and fully functional. That following Sunday I was able to play guitar for worship and have never had an issue with my wrists or hands since. So it clearly wasn't rheumatoid arthritis. I completely and absolutely believe that was an attempt from Satan to block me from being used by God. If I couldn't play guitar to lead worship, I was one less tool God had to reach those kids. If someone was given a Bible, then something happened to prevent that person from having regular communication with the person who gave it to them, there are fewer opportunities for discussions. If he can make us question our beliefs, then we pull away from God. Being ashamed, blaming others, the need for approval, feeling inadequate. Satan will use whatever weakness he can find to hopefully undermine and destroy us, our relationship with God and in turn disrupt the Church.
While I know that Satan looks for those fault lines to get to us, I believe that God can show us where they are and so we can let him fix them before they become an issue. I'm not saying it's always easier that way, but the outcome is definitely better and the process is usually shorter, if we listen. Usually trials we go through are a way God points out the fault lines. I imagine trying to find a pinhole in an inertube. You know something's not quite right, cause it's leaking air and going flat, but the spot of origin has yet to be found. So, what do you do? You douse the tube in soapy water and after everything settles and rolls off, you look for the little bubbles. Sometimes I feel like God has to throw us into the depths of the soapy water so we can see that there is a leak that needs to be fixed. Once we see where the leak is, hopefully we have put Macgyver away and we can let God fix it.
When I'm in the midst of that soapy water gasping for air, this is the last thing I want to be told, but looking back after the fact it is ALWAYS true. " And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 .
I know this has gotten a bit long, but I promise I'm almost done. The group Casting Crowns has an amazing song called The Voice Of Truth. This is a video I found and wanted to share. They lyrics are amazing. So when you sense something starting to gnaw at you think about it, pray about it and see if maybe it's a fault line that needs to be fixed before you're shaken to the core.
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