You want to pull it, but you know you shouldn’t. That dangling thread on the seam of your clothes is bugging you. Does that describe your life?
I looked down and saw it. Arghh. Now would everyone see it? Would it snag on things through the day? A broken strand of thread dangled out of the seam. And I was running late.
Do I pull it? Is it worth the risk unraveling the whole hem?
Tape it? Most likely it wouldn’t hold very long.
Snip it? A temporary fix, but that wouldn’t solve the issue of the broken thread unraveling again. I knew the integrity of the stitch had been compromised. But it might give me time to deal with it later…when I get the chance.
Things in our lives can feel as if they are starting to unravel. What we have carefully hemmed together is starting to tear. What do we do about it? Do we yank at the problem to get rid of it quickly and take the chance of it all falling apart? If we tug, it might reveal more and more that has become untied.
Do we tape it and hide the issue from others, hoping it will stay beneath the surface. Then go one about our business as if it is fixed?
Or do we snip at it each time it appears, never really investing the time to dealing with it properly?
Do we rush to discard that piece of clothing, put on something else, and toss it in the to-be-meded pile?
Or do we actually stop, take time to tie it, stitch it back, and secure it so it doesn’t happen anymore?
I once heard that a day knotted with prayer at both ends won’t unravel. Paul says it this way:
The lines of purpose in your lives never grow slack, tightly tied as they are to your future in heaven, kept taut by hope. I Colossians 1:5 (MSG)
When something snags in our lives, we need to deal with that 
dangling thread lest it unravel us. Hope, bolstered by prayer, is the best way to re-anchor our faith. We need to allow our Lord to be the needle which can guide the wayward thread and knot it so it doesn’t affect the rest of the hem that is our life.
That may mean stopping what we are doing in order to handle it. It may involve a few pricks of our conscience as His needle deals with the transgression, anger or guilt. Perhaps it will cause us to halt in our tracks and not go further until we are sure it is dealt with properly.
But unless it is resolved correctly, that dangling thread tickling our conscience will bother us over and over until we are forced to deal with it. And by that time, the things hemming our lives might be starting to unravel enough that it shows.
If it is on us, then perhaps it is why we seem to fall short each year. After all, Paul reminds us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23)
Perhaps, instead of focusing on how we should change, become more aware, adjust our weight, habits, etc. we need to shift our focus to the Cross. Not rely on our own strength, or even ask God to give us strength, but for Him to be our strength. May we choose to be other-orientated and open to being used to His glory. Let God set the path, and be pliable enough to be molded in the way He wishes so we can be His hands and feet in this world and point others to Him, not ourselves.
I always took the first part of the passage as an action. In my church, each Sunday we pray for the president, governor, Congress, city council and mayor. Over my life there have been times I gritted my teeth, but prayed anyway, out of obedience. After all, that is what Scripture tells us to do, right?
But we can act out what our coinage states and place our elected officials and this nation’s people under God’s care, trusting in Him. In other words, pray for them. We may not see a change in their attitudes or beliefs, but we may see one in us. Our hearts may become more palatable to loving our neighbors and our enemies. Our anxieties or frustrations may minimize. Hope may bubble up a bit more in our souls.
Have you ever noticed that a candle doesn’t burn long if the heat of the lighted wick does not begin to melt it? The wick ignites the flame, but it will quickly snuff if the wax around the wick doesn’t start to liquefy. The closer the wax is to the flame’s heat, the quicker it melts.
I have to turn my house plants ever so often or they will grow crookedly. They will repeatedly bend towards the source of light coming into my apartment from the window. Pretty soon, if I don’t rotate them, one half of the plants will be bare. Those leaves on the dark side will shrivel and die. The side aimed toward the light will flourish and grow. However, it will be at a skewed angle, and some of the leaves may be crowded out. It won’t look very healthy because the whole plant hasn’t been exposed the same amount to light.
Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5.
Let us pray away the barriers. Join many other Christians who are stopping each day at 8:00 p.m. CDT to pray for one minute for our people, our nation and for peace. I have set the alarm on my cell phone daily to remind me to stop, drop and pray.
Where Did You Find God Today? 