I was taught a very funny lesson today. My computer screen has been cracked for the last month, and today it finally broke completely. I was really sad because I knew I wouldn’t be able to use it until it was fixed at home, which would be expensive. We had a chance to have somebody look at it, but the likelihood of them having the right screen size was extremely unlikely. I knew that it was a longshot, but we went anyway.
To my surprise, the only screen a friend of ours had was the perfect size. I was amazed because I was so sure it wouldn’t work. See, this story is funny because I feel like that’s how I am with God sometimes. I am satisfied with my partially useful idol and do not want to look for more. The only way that God can persuade me to detach from that idol is to completely break it down; it is then that I have no choice but to look elsewhere (ideally Him).
In this simple situation, God taught me a valuable lesson. I was content with what I had that I didn’t want to let it go; I didn’t want to search elsewhere for a solution to the problem. What I didn’t know was that better was out there; I had just refused to take that risk.
I can see so many times in my life where I held on to things so tightly. Each time, God has broken them down to take away my dependence on them. In the moment, I see God punishing me; what I fail to see is the big picture. God isn’t punishing me; He is turning my dependence toward Him because that truly is what’s best for me. Just as in this situation, I believe that I have something good, but God has something so much better waiting for me.
