Pastoral Ponderings— Jesus is my chainsaw?
Don’t you just hate it when that happens? We’ve often been camping around the 4th of July, and too many times in recent years, we’ve had a tree or big limb fall down, either fully or partially blocking our drive. Well, we didn’t go anywhere this year, but STILL had that happen—this time a tree-sized limb, that didn’t completely block the drive—but you should have seen how much it blocked before I had cut off all the foliage from what had been the top!
When this started happening a few years ago, we bought a battery-powered chain saw that has saved the day many times—and saved the day again this time! Now I’m sure we’re not the only ones who have had obstacles fall in our way—it may not always be a tree, but obstacles just plopping in our way is just a pretty common part of life. So what’s the chain saw that you pull out to help clear the way?
I like to think of Jesus as my chain saw—not to have Jesus violently rip apart every obstacle! But to have Jesus and the tools Jesus brings, be what I use to be my Plan A for when I run into an obstacle. With this huge limb, I’ve not yet cut the whole thing apart, but taken a bit here and there of what needed to be cut off to clear the path—a good example of how not all obstacles have a quick fix. But we need to find ways to mitigate obstacles big and small, and find Godly ways to face when obstacles don’t have a fix.
You’ve probably heard me before talking about one of my current favorite Jesus tools found at Philippians 4: 6-9, which in a nutshell is to pray about the negative, but focus on the positive. Not that doing so takes away all life’s negatives and obstacles, but focuses us on the blessing’s God is always pouring out in abundance, even in the midst of or despite whatever bumps come our way.
What’s your chainsaw—your primary tool for facing and overcoming obstacles? You can count on more obstacles coming your way—better find tools you can count on too!
Keep being a blessing- Pastor Jim
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