Jen’s Gem: Get stuck on Jesus!
Yesterday I dipped my toe into spring cleaning. Nothing crazy yet – just a refresh of my bedroom and bath. All was well with the world as I cleared away dust bunnies, changed my bedsheets, and re-organized my medicine cabinet.
Until…
There it was. Staring at me like the menace that it was. Mocking me as if to say, “You won’t do it. ” No, it was not my closet or even my bathroom cabinet. It was my shower caddy.
I know…I know. Feel free to laugh at me.
For a while now, I’ve noticed that the bottoms of the caddy had a soapy buildup. Every time I showered, I told myself that I would unravel this contraption and clean it thoroughly. To say it’s been months might actually be an understatement.
After spending my morning in God’s Word, journaling, and praying, I felt as though I could conquer the world. I looked in the bathroom mirror and said:
“Are you seriously afraid of a shower caddy? Really?”
Armed with power and determination, I emptied its contents and unhinged the plastic hooks from the pipe. Victory! After seeing that it was too big to clean in the bathroom sink, I carried it to the kitchen and minutes later – voila!!
“Take that!” I said to no one in particular. I reassembled the caddy and replaced my sundry shower items. Mission accomplished!
As I cleaned the caddy in my kitchen sink, I recalled a teaching by Joyce Meyer in which she said something like this:
“You cannot take authority over your life if you can’t take authority over a sink of dirty dishes.”
While comical, this trite phrase could not be truer for many of us who are feeling beat up by the world. We’ve let so many things kick us to the curb that our ability to tackle the smallest task overwhelms us and we head under the covers.
Jesus did not die on the cross for us to be afraid of a shower caddy. He died for us to have a life filled with power and victory. It’s up to us to get this truth into our spirits and live like it is actually true.
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you,
Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’” (Isaiah 41:10 NKJV)
Here’s the thing…
I can read the Bible until I am blue in the face. I can watch or listen to a thousand teachings about the grace and love of God, of the power and authority I have as a follower of Jesus. Yet, if all of this remains stuck in my head or on the pages of a journal, well, it’s useless. I will have wasted my time and leave this planet without fulfilling God’s plan for my life.
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” (James 1:22 NKJV)
Many people are feeling stuck right now, facing a new season of life filled with confusion. They need a reset – physical and spiritual to break the bondage of “stuckness.”
Boy, do I know how they feel! But we have to remember something. And this is key.
Jesus did not stay stuck on the cross. He didn’t even stay stuck in the tomb. A few hours on the cross. A few days in the grave. An eternity of victory in heaven.
While it is important to look to the cross to get a revelation of the enormity of God’s love for us, we have to move our gaze up… to heaven. That’s where Jesus is now. He’s not dead. He’s not stuck. He’s alive.
He fulfilled God’s plan for His life and now He wants the same for us. However, we must decide whether we want to stay stuck or step out, to leave our cross behind or keep carrying it.
Sometimes we have to take baby steps of faith, doing something scary to move forward. What would Jesus want us to do?
Sure, you might fail if you take that step. Yet it’s a win-win. You will either have learned a valuable lesson or you will get that bit of confidence to take another step, knowing that God is with you and anything is possible with God.
Even cleaning a shower caddy.