How many of us have the patience to untangle a knotty necklace? And not just any old trinket, but one with such sentimental value it causes your heart to sink when you glance down in your jewelry box. I don’t know about you, but thoughts of carelessness and shame wash over as I hold the tangled, twisted metal. And after several hapless attempts to detangle the mess, I succumb to frustration and hopelessness. The only thing preventing me from chucking the chain in the trash is its deep-seeded sentiment.
Does anyone have a tangled chain in their jewelry box needing an untangled change? Or if you’ll permit, who out there has lived a mangled and misshaped past in need of spiritual reshaping? If you’ve answered, “Girl, you’re talking to me,” move over in that box because we all have. And yet God, in His grace, frees us from this tangled mess called sin and makes us right (Romans 3:24).
So, we’ve lived a tangled past we aren’t particularly proud. How do we make changes? As I’ve shared before, I don’t have all the answers. What I do have are wise insights from living life listening to (and yes, sometimes ignoring) God.
The wise choice I’ve ever made — live life listening. Here are a couple insights God’s revealed along the way:
- Stop hiding from God — Why would you hide from the one fully capable of presenting the best solution for your mangled mess? He knows the predicaments we face. Hey, He knew how we got tangled in the first place (spoiler alert: disobedience and our sin nature). Too many people in the Bible tried hiding (Gideon, Rachel, Saul, David). Sadly, their stories resulted in unfortunate consequences when they hid their sinful acts from God. God is about changing the outcome, not chaining us to a tangled past. Yeah, Gideon hid provisions because of his low opinion of himself and his tribe, but God raised this fearful servant into a “man of valor” (Judges 6 & 7) and changed the outcome. So stop hiding what He deems as His treasured possession.
- Be patient in the process — Oh how we absolutely loathe the “P” word. Who hates waiting in line, waiting in traffic, waiting for a delivery, waiting for the end of a major renovation? I could go on, but you understand. If patience were a pair of jeans we’ve been trying to fit into, we’d stuff them in the back of our closet! Our focus and frustration lies in the stress of waiting for the big answer, for the instant gratification or the end result to occur immediately after the “Amen.” What if patience is actually built over time? Instead of that long-term, sibling squabble which ended in bitter tears years ago, you look to God for simple ways to forgive, heal and possibly reconnect over time. In lieu of erratic spending tied to mental scarcity and now deep debt, you seek God as your soul/sole supplier and some form of counseling to strategize and eliminate the deeper burden of debt over time.
These two scenarios resonate with me most because God taught me patience in the process. I’ve learned each step will reach its goal and outcome over time. It took time for my entanglement, and with Christ, it will take time to reach a favorable conclusion. Even in the process, God declares His faithfulness. In fact, “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6). I encourage you with the same truth Paul shared with the believers in Philippi.
What God created in you is just as treasured as the image of a keepsake necklace. But as life goes, entanglements happen. Don’t hide what He treasures just because you believe your past entanglements exclude you of any future value. God will produce patience in us over time because we are His keepsake.
Blessings!
