Most Thursday nights you will find me at small group Bible study. A few weeks ago we were at one of our leaders' apartments. We were just sitting around and talking when all of a sudden the chair that one of the guys had been sitting on just collapsed from under him and he fell to the floor. This guy didn't have a weight problem and hadn't been doing anything unusual with the chair so it was a mystery as to why the chair just broke apart. The guys were going to throw it out but I convinced them to let me take it with to show Ray. I figured if anyone could put the chair back together he could - and he did.
After inspecting the broken chair pieces, Ray determined that the chair had been broken once before and that whoever had put it back together the first time had drilled screws into the wood. It seemed like a good temporary solution, however, what actually happened was that the screws weakened the wood. It was only a matter of time before the wooden legs gave away again.
This made me think: How many times have I been broken and tried to fill the hole in my heart with something that seemed good but were only temporary solutions such as alcohol, tranquilizers, and sex. Sure, I seemed fine on the outside but my inside was crumbling and it was only a matter of time before I broke down again. The only permanent solution to filling that hole was by turning to Christ, repenting, and remaining focused on Him. This doesn't mean that I'm perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but it does mean that when I fail or when life seems hopelessly overwhelming that I can focus on Christ and be strengthened by Him. I may bend, but HE will NEVER let me be broken beyond repair. After all, HE's the master carpenter!
"A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench;"
Isaiah 42:3
"He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake."
Psalm 23:3
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