All Tied Up - Pastor Enid

As part of his message yesterday, Sean used an illustration of a rope to symbolize the "path" we take in life. He talked about how we sometimes view our choices in life as a spiritual tug-of-war, with God holding one end of the rope and us the other. The point of the illustration was that God refuses to play games with us. If we insist on "pulling" in a different direction, he will simply drop the rope. When this happens, it doesn't represent God's abandonment or rejection of us-- in fact it represents just the opposite. God's refusal to participate in our agenda is birthed out of His love for us! Because He knows that His way is not merely better than ours, it's perfect. It is the extravagant and unfailing love of God that pursues us through mountaintop and valley, day and night, everywhere we go.


"Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture.... None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." (Romans 8:34-39 MSG)


That rope illustration has stuck with me, and I have been thinking about it all morning. The key point is that regardless of our intention to follow Christ and fulfill his purpose for us, we simply cannot do so if we are still holding our own rope. His intention is that we willingly give Him our whole rope-- our job, our finances, our marriage, our relationships, our possessions, our emotions and attitudes, our opinions, our future-- the whole thing.  And only then, when He holds both ends of the rope can we truly dwell in his presence. There is no way we can step out of sync with His purpose and plan because we are tied to Him! Now instead of Him pursuing us, we find ourselves pursuing Him!


Have you ever noticed how ropes, strings, cords and necklace chains seem to tie themselves in knots without any help? I can't count how many times I have taken knots out of my daughter's necklace chains or the cord of my vacuum cleaner, and yet not once has anyone tied those knots. They just happen, like the weeds that are popping up all over our yard! And when we hold our own rope, it is inevitable that it will eventually get all tied up, twisted and entangled in the things of this world. And despite how smart we are or how pure our intentions, one day we will look down at our rope and discover that it is a mess.


Just like taking up our cross, handing over our rope is a daily choice. Every morning when we wake up we have to decide which one we are going to carry for the day- our rope or His cross. We simply cannot carry both at the same time. We are either the leader (with God pursuing us), or the follower (with us pursuing God.) And while His love will continue to pursue us, it cannot empower or deliver us until we submit to it. So here are a few warning signs that I've experienced during seasons of my life when I've insisted on carrying my own rope:


You are spiritually tired, exhausted, or burned out. Spiritual burn out never takes place under the weight of the cross. It is unpreventable however under the weight of our rope. The longer we remain in control of our own life, the heavier it gets because it ends up dragging with it unintended baggage. We end up feeling the pressures of regret, guilt, other people's expectations of us, and our own desire to succeed and accomplish.


You are lacking necessary resources or abilities. The beauty and freedom of carrying out His agenda instead of ours is that He foots the bill for His plan! He delights in calling us to do something we are completely unqualified to do, but He will always anoint, empower and equip us to do it.


You lose your appetite for spiritual disciplines. God's presence is addictive. The more time we spend with Him, the hungrier we become for His presence. But when we become too preoccupied with this life, we slowly neglect our time with Him and eventually lose our appetite for spending time in His word or in prayer and worship. These things move from being our delight, to being an obligation, to being a New Year's resolution.

So today let's remember that Galatians 5 tells us that we've been set free by the power of Christ.  So drop your rope and rest in His presence and freedom.