Tangled mess

Jeremiah 17:5 (ESV)

 Thus says the Lord:

“Cursed is the man who trusts in man

    and makes flesh his strength,

    whose heart turns away from the Lord.

A young woman at a textile mill in rural Texas was new on the job. A flaming red warning sign on her sewing machine read “If Your Thread Becomes Tangled, Call the Foreman Immediately."

After working diligently for an hour or two, suddenly the young worker’s thread became tangled. Fearing the foreman’s reaction at such an early mistake, she thought, “I’ll just quickly straighten this out myself.” Though she tried desperately to untangle the thread, the situation only worsened. Finally, she had no choice but to call the foreman. As soon as he arrived, the foreman could tell that the young worker had tried to do some of her own maneuverings before calling him. “I did the best I could,” she said. “No you didn’t,” the foreman replied. “To do the best, you should have called me. Now this sewing machine will need to be repaired. If this happens again, you will be fired.”

How many times have we tried to do something on our own strength? We exhaust ourselves trying before it becomes clear that we just can’t do it without our Great Foreman. Thankfully, He hasn’t fired us yet!

It may sound radical to say but when we rely on our own strength, really, it is a form of idol worship. We exalt our own strength above the Lord’s. This is unacceptable to a Holy and All-Powerful God. Even our greatest efforts cannot compare with how much more effectively a job can get done if we would only call upon His Name!

We are weaklings in need of a great God. We cannot do anything without Him. Let’s begin putting our trust fully in the Lord today and see great things get accomplished!

Dear Lord, help us to put our trust in You and not our own.  Help us to come to You for the help to get things done. In the Nam eof Jesus, Amen.