This is Knot-the Problem

 “... that He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” Philippians 1:6 (AKJV)

 Bella is my Sheltie; her name is Italian for beautiful and she is aptly named because this is the first thing everyone notices about her. A major reason Shelties are attractive is their long, silky fur, but because it is thick, it gets knotted easily. The other day as I was grooming Bella, she kept wiggling so much that I couldn’t brush her and I knew she was getting frustrated with how long her “beauty treatment” was taking and honestly, so was I!

I was ready to give up but it was then that the Lord whispered to my heart: “Do you know that you do that too, Sandy? Your life gets tangled up and you get impatient and run away when I try to comb out the knots.”  I realized that He was right. You see Bella’s fur tends to get matted and getting out the knots is time consuming and anxiety-filled, but there is no other way to unravel the mat. It would be much easier to just cut out the mats, but if I cut out every mat that she gets, she’d be nearly hairless.

Occasionally the mats are so bad that I do cut them out, but usually she must stand still while I work them out. She is never happy when I get out the comb, however, for the most part she lies there patiently, but only for so long; then it becomes too much and she gets up and runs to another room. Of course, this only delays the inevitable, but being a dog, she doesn’t understand, but as her master I know the knots have to go or they’ll get worse.

How often do we do this with God? Our season is unpleasant and our lives get tangled, so we come to God and ask for His help. He starts to comb and detangle but we keep getting up and going to another “room”, far away from the Groomer! Occasionally He just takes the mats away, but more often than knot, (I couldn’t resist) removing the tangles in our lives is a process, one that we must willingly sit under.

 In this unprecedented season you may feel like you’ve “remained” as long as you can bear…you are no longer able to walk out your usual activities or enjoy most of your relationships…in a sense you and I have been called to stand still too, for a time. But we must continue to choose to remain in the place we find ourselves as the Father uses our “stillness” to unknot various areas of our life…like I do for Bella…only infinitely better!

Now admittedly some of Bella’s knots are just from her daily existence of being a dog, but other times she goes into the woods and gets jiggers in her fur, however either way, she needs help to get them out. I’ve learned that our life’s tangles are the same way; some are just par for the course of being human and other mats we bring on by poor choices. But God is merciful, He patiently helps us every time we get all knotted up, whether they were through no fault of our own or if they occurred while we were chasing things that led us to places we should never have been in the first place.

Not only does He help us, He also knows when we have had all the “beauty treatments” we can stand and He lays down the comb and lets us go. Yes, it lengthens the process, but He knows that we are merely humans, who are prone to tangle and likely to wiggle. So, He waits, calling our name, His hands stand ready to help and His heart longs to embrace us and the absolute best part is that all the while He is detangling the mess of our lives, His hands never leave us! He who calls us is faithful to finish the work He has begun in you and me! What a joyous promise that is ours in this season of anxiety and the great unknown! 

Well, I’ve gotta go, He’s calling my name again; it must be time for my next beauty treatment!

Father, Thank You for loving us despite the tangles in our life. Please come and help us trust You enough to stand still as You continue to work out the knotted messes we have made. Come work in us during this season of “stillness” and please remind us Lord that all the while You detangle our life; Your loving hands never leave us in this season or any that are to come. Amen