“In the words of my counselor and friend, ‘It’s not a mess!’ It may look like one, but trust that God is working in all things.”
Have you ever had a knot that you couldn’t untangle? Wet shoelaces, necklaces, or fishing lines? Yesterday, I blew my hair dry upside down, and when I stood up, I had the worst knot ever. I rubbed conditioner through my hair, quickly trying to loosen it before my lunch guest arrived. I would have cut it out, but this was bigger than usual, and I don’t have that much hair! I heard the doorbell, so I just combed over it and left it for later.
My friend and I had a wonderful visit catching up over the past few years, and she never mentioned my knot. I went through the rest of the day like this because I’d agreed to drive my son on errands right after lunch. It’s not like me to live with a knot, let alone go in public with one. Since he’s on crutches, I went into the school, the music store, and a fast-food restaurant for him. Back home, we laughed that I was beginning to make dreadlocks. My son is experienced with this kind of thing, so he coached me on how to get it out. “Come on Mom, you can do it.” He encouraged me, “It took me a whole day to comb out my dreadlocks and I did it.” All I could envision was his bathroom counter covered in broken pieces of hair.
I finally got it out. In the process, I reflected on some of the other “knots” I’ve experienced in life - problems and pains much worse than a hair knot to resolve. Some days, I felt such despair I thought I would never get through. Yet God has been faithful to me. He’s not only a master detangler but a grand weaver who creates something beautiful in the process.
Encouragement from someone who has relied on God through their trials is helpful. So, in my difficult times, I’ve turned to the Psalms of David. His life was repeatedly in danger; he was hunted by Saul and pursued by his enemies. David’s only hope was God… and He saved him! (See Psalm 31, it’s amazing). He says,
“Praise be to the LORD, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was a city under siege. In my alarm, I said, “I am cut off from your sight! Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.”
If life feels like a tangle of knots, will you look to God? Find encouragement by reading the Psalms or recalling God’s past faithfulness to you. Like David, he will hear your cry for mercy and help you.
There truly isn’t a knot too hard for Him!
“Be strong and take heart all you who hope in the LORD.”