ALL TIED UP!

Leviticus 6:1-7:27; Mark 3:7-30; Psalm 37:1-11; Proverbs 10:3-4

“One time Jesus entered a house, and the crowds began to gather again. Soon he and his disciples couldn’t even find time to eat. When his family heard what was happening, they tried to take him away. ‘He’s out of his mind,’ they said….  Jesus called them over and responded with an illustration. ‘You can’t enter a strong man’s house and rob him without first tying him up. Only then can his house be robbed!’”

  He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,
and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun….  Be still in the presence of the Lord,
and wait patiently for him to act.  Don’t worry about evil people who prosper
or fret about their wicked schemes.  Stop being angry!  Turn from your rage!
 Do not lose your temper — it only leads to harm.”

It’s comforting that even Jesus got too busy to eat.  I understand his family thinking he was out of his mind; every time I work through lunch, my wife says the same thing about me.  Hey, does working through lunch make me more Christlike?!?  Apparently, …NOT!  But Jesus getting caught up in His work maybe made Him a bit more like us….  He can sympathize, at least.

Jesus understood the fastest way to spiritual impotence was to get all tied up.  Whether with work, worry, impatience, anger or envy, David lived the point. (Remember, for example, Bathsheba?)  David lost more than his house; he lost a child.  Satan has many poisons to keep us from God.  But David also understood there is only one antidote.

“Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.”

I need to remember that!  It is so easy to get tied up that “tied up” has become a cliché, an excuse everyone understands, and too many of us just accept.  “Bad day” is no excuse for not trusting Christ.  “Too busy” is no reason to brush off the Spirit.  They may be explanations, but they are not excuses.  And whatever they are, if we are committed to the Lord first, they become inapplicable.

Life happens, and things other than God do have their place in that process.  Wherever that place is, though, it needs to be out of the way of our commitment to God and our trust in Him.