Can’t Seem to Catch a Break?
I was dressed, and I went to my closet to get a pair of sandals that perfectly matched my outfit. They were tan and had buckles. I tried buckling them and, for some reason, it just wasn’t happening. So, I sat for a few more minutes trying to buckle a pair of shoes that I’ve worn a thousand times before and had fastened with no problem.
I finally thought to myself, “Forget it!” and I went to my car, got in, and began to drive with both my shoes unbuckled.
At the first stoplight, I managed to get my right shoe together – then the light turned green. I came to another light and tried the left shoe, but it wasn’t having it. I fumbled with my shoe buckle until I got irritated… well, I was already irritated before I got in the car – so I fumbled until the light turned green.
I came to my next stop, and do you know what I did? If you guessed that I patiently sat there until I fastened my shoe, you’re wrong! I sure did not!
I got out of my car and went inside with the straps of my shoe flapping back and forth. And I walked with a bit more attitude, not because of confidence, but because I felt I had to overcompensate for the fact that I refused to continue trying to buckle my shoe.
Then, it finally happened. I got tired of my shoe strap slapping my ankle; I took a deep breath, slowed down, and prayed. I literally said, “Lord, now, I don’t want to be angry, but I’m gonna be if I can’t fasten this shoe.” And you know what? I fastened it.
Try God Before All Else Fails
How often do we try, and try, and try to get our lives “buckled” and it doesn’t seem to work? We get frustrated because things don’t happen the way we feel they should and when. And, we decide that we don’t want to take the time to sit still long enough to get it together.
We’ve got to be missing something, right? I mean, so many times before, our way of life, our knowledge got us to the perfect end result, right? Not really. More often than not, God has to allow us to experience some difficulties in order to get our attention.
The scripture in our Playbook comes to mind, “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts” (Isaiah 55:9). So often, we neglect to ask the One who created the day that we are living in, how to navigate through the day. We fail to go to the God who can “buckle our shoes” right where He is.
So, What’s The Play Call?
Just as frustration got the better of me when I couldn’t buckle my shoe, it can get to me when my day-to-day life doesn’t click as I planned it out. Who would think that something so routine would throw me off? But then again, these are things that we cannot, and frankly, do not plan for. The enemy doesn’t always catch us off guard with the big things. Sometimes, it’s that smallest part of a “buckle” that messes us up!
Be sure that you look to God for guidance when nothing seems to be going right and you can’t seem to catch a break. Here are a few things to remember when it gets hard to securely “fasten” life:
- Put all your trust in God, not in what you think you know. He can help even when your plans fail you. “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding.” Proverbs 3:5
- Seek God and His kingdom first. Though it may sound backwards, in some ways, prioritizing the things of God first will cause everything on your list to fall into place and on time. “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Matthew 6:33
- Be patient. My irritation with my shoe only prolonged the time it took for me to actually fasten it. When you are patient, you qualify for all that has been promised to you. “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.” Hebrews 6:15
Whatever you do, take time out to “buckle that shoe.” Allow God to guide you. I literally could not get my shoe to cooperate with my life until I prayed to God. And, just as I expressed myself to Him, He is waiting for you to do the same. No preliminaries, not big words, just “Lord, If you don’t, I will, and I don’t wanna.” He can hear you, and He’s got you. Let God get you together.
