“One of my neighbors was over last night,” Stan mentioned one morning. “He told me he had been having trouble with his computer and the internet connection. Things just didn’t work right.”
“That can be really frustrating,” I replied. “Computers are great when they work, but when they don’t I have to call someone who knows how to fix the problem.”
“That’s what my neighbor did,” Stan said. “He called a tech guy.”
“Did he get it fixed?”
“He did,” Stan replied, “and what my neighbor said about the problem had a real application to my faith walk.”
“In what way?”
“When the tech guy looked behind the computer and at the internet connection, apparently he said something like, ‘What a tangled mess!’ It seems that there were wires all over the place, all tangled up so that some were causing others to be disconnected.”
Continuing, Stan said, “The tech guy untangled the wires, got rid of some that weren’t necessary, put them all in order, and the computer and the internet work just like they’re supposed to. Just like my relationship with God.”
“Your relationship with God? What do you mean by that?”
“If I’m not careful,” Stan replied, “my life can get all tangled up and cause me to be disconnected from God.”
“How do you fix that?” I asked.
“The writer of the letter to the Hebrews had a good solution that is equally applicable to me.”
“What?”
“Lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles us,” Stan said. “And I think the ‘lay aside’ part means that I am to choose to not to get tangled up with anything that’s going to cause a disconnect between me and God.”
“But what if there is? What do you do then?”
“Call upon the only One who can help. Call upon God with confession and ask for His help with the repentance that is needed to get me untangled from the mess I may have allowed into my life.”
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Bible verses to consider:
Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Hebrews 12:1.
Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Romans 13:12.
Lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit. Ephesians 4:22.
Prayer: Thank you, Father, for your provision of being freed from everything that can cause a disconnect between me and you. Way too often I allow things into my life that cause me to get all tangled up and not have the relationship with you that you intend. Please help me keep from getting tangled up with what the world, the flesh, and the devil have to offer. Help me to be untangled so that my walk with you and our relationship grow only deeper and stronger. Thank you I can and do bring these prayers before you in the name of Jesus. Amen.
Think on this: It’s easy to get ourselves all tangled up with things that cause a disconnect between us and God. Do you agree with that? Why or why not? Are there things in your life that have you entangled like that? If so, do you want them removed? Do you know how that can be accomplished? What would it look like for our lives to be free from tangled messes? Is that possible?
Waiting for the Train 