My tool box is not extensive. And over the years I have at least had the limited wisdom and resources to gather in a few more specimens to adorn my garage walls: an electric sander, an electric drill, an electric saw; good grief! Makes me appreciate our forebears prior to Ben Franklin’s little kite and key experiment. Some things I have procured only AFTER trying to accomplish the job using,…something else.
Failing to use the correct tool for the job can be not only inconvenient, but downright dangerous. A Phillips screwdriver does a lot better on a Phillips-head screw than, say, a table knife. Ask me how I know. I could give other personal examples, but I try to keep these blog posts short. Suffice it to say, the right tool for the right job is significantly more efficient than the alternative, especially if the alternative involves a hospital bill. (Thankfully, I haven’t gotten that far.)
Flashback to a man named Nehemiah and the returned Jewish exiles who were rebuilding the wall around their beloved Jerusalem. Now there was a BIG job in need of the right equipment, and they didn’t even have power tools. What they did have, however, was opposition, and plenty of it. It goes like this:
“But when Sanballat and Tobiah…heard that the work was going ahead and that the gaps in the wall of Jerusalem were being repaired, they were furious. They all made plans to come and fight against Jerusalem and throw us into confusion.”
Our enemy, Satan, has plans for us also, he has a pretty big tool box of his own, AND just like in Nehemiah’s experience, our enemy fears our progress. Are you embarking on a new project entrusted to you by God? (Child-rearing, perhaps??) Are you rebuilding something broken? (Relationships? Emotional health?) Please be advised that, like the former exiles (emphasis on “former”), one of the enemy’s big wrenches to throw into our progress is Confusion. And, learning a lesson from Nehemiah’s leadership, we need to use the correct spiritual tools to counter that:
“But we prayed to our God and guarded the city day and night to protect ourselves.”
Due diligence in the “guarding” part is important, but the first hammer to pull out against Confusion (or anything, for that matter), is Prayer. We tend to poo-poo the spiritual influence of our circumstances when, in reality (I love that word) it is the first influence that needs remodeling.
And it takes more than a mere table knife.
Nehemiah 4:7-9 Tyndale House Publishers Inc (2008-06-01). The One Year Bible NLT (One Year Bible: Nlt Book 2) (Kindle Locations 26045-26047). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.
I love a good illustration! They are so good at drawing a person into a post. Love Nehemiah too, been thinking about a study on it myself
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This is one of the main ways God seems to want to talk with me. Really appreciate your feedback (and Wally, always feel free to disagree and correct, please.)
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Well, I try not to disagree with folks too much in Christian blogs. Sometimes it’s necessary. Usually if I don’t agree with the content of a post in a serious way I just don’t like it. Or I might write something with what I believe is taught. Rare is the occasion I wade into a Christians blog swinging, I have, and it doesn’t end well and makes all look like fools.
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Wisdom….
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I mean don’t get me wrong. I have, it’s just not a good idea. Now, I have also had fellow believers come to my blog and teach what I would say is gross error, then I have to be a little firmer I guess. I love to brawl actually, but it’s just not very Christlike. This is a tough subject for me to tell the truth, as interpersonal relationships is still a work in progress for me! Ask my family!
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Timely for me, Dawn. Thanks
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Good story; good lesson. Sometimes my table knife gets bent just because I don’t want to walk to the garage. Costly that way.
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You mean I’m not the only one??? Ha!
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Dawnliz, may I post your “Drill Sergeants” on my Face Book? I have friends I would sure like to encourage to do some blogging as you so eloquently plead.
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I just love the way the Lord works. Mysteriously, sometimes, but there are those times when it’s just right out there in plain sight. This message is so appropriate for someone hear and dear to my heart. Thank you for helping out into words what I need to say…
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