Recently, my son purchased a walking pad to augment his gym workouts, and he offered me the opportunity to use it. It brought back memories of how much I enjoyed my treadmill when I had my house. It’s not as big and it doesn’t have handrails, so I have to really concentrate to stay balanced.
Also, instead of a big “dashboard” where you control the speed etc, there’s a hand-held remote. The other day, as I was doing my daily walk, I accidentally dropped the remote and I had no way to stop the machine. I contemplated my fate and realized I had two options:
- Keep walking until my son returned home from work… (four hours later) or,
- Jump off.
Since option one was a tad unrealistic, I voted for option two.
With all the courage I could muster, I hopped off the machine. As I grabbed the remote to turn it off, I noticed that there was a ‘handle’ on it that likely was to be wrapped around your wrist to avoid dropping it. (oops!)
Perhaps, had I used this “safety net,” I would not have had to risk life and limb, and could’ve exited the machine like a lady instead of like, well… a lunatic.
As I pondered my little foible, I thought about other safety nets that we may look to to keep us secure. How many times do we count on people, places, and things to keep us safe that may not be as reliable as we’d like.
For example, I relied on my well-paying jobs to be my financial safety net, but then I got laid off…twice. I also relied on past relationships to be my emotional safety net, until they were irrevocably broken.
All of the things that I relied on for stability or security had a shelf life. None of them lasted and my decision to elevate them to be something they were not resulted in a lot of sleepless nights.
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.” (Isaiah 40:8 NKJV)
However, I have learned that these fickle safety nets cannot compare to The Safety Net. My Father in heaven has been with me through the layoffs and other hiccups of my life, including jumping off of a moving treadmill and living to tell about it.
Let’s face it. Everything in this life is temporary, but the love of God lasts forever. When we wrap our hands (and hearts) around this, we are better equipped to run this race called life.
“My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” (Psalm 121:2 NKJV)
This week, I would like to encourage you to examine the safety nets you may be relying on. Will they stand the test of time? Or, do you need to look to and rely on a Safety Net who will never leave you nor forsake you?
For me, I’m choosing to wrap my hand around the One and Only Safety Net – Jesus. (Check out Psalm 146.)