Agitation

-
Yesterday I mentioned that I got rather distracted when I went on a word search for the word agitation, but I didn't share what I learned from my search.

It all began as I was waiting for the washer to fill up with water yesterday. My washer is rather dysfunctional, and as a result, I can actually have the lid open while my clothes are washing (yes, I know the dangers...). Unfortunately, I have the bad habit of starting the washer and then going to get the clothes. If I get sidetracked, when I get back the washer is usually so full of water and suds that it takes me several minutes to actually get the clothes into the washer because of the suds that would overflow if I forced the clothes...so, as I stood waiting to put all the clothes in, I noticed the agitation that forced the dirty clothes down. As I stood and simply watched, it made me think of spiritual things.

God often uses agitation in my life to get me clean. I don't always want to be clean when I am steeping in sin, but because God loves me, he doesn't allow me to stay in the sin. He puts events or people in my life that force me to turn back to him for cleansing and restoration. As I watched the agitation force the dirt loose from the clothes, I thought about the end result that comes from the agitation--cleanness. However, my clothes don't get out of the hamper, run to the washer, climb up, and dive in. Instead, they must be carried to the washer and placed in it with the cleaning agent and water before cleansing occurs. Similarly, I don't often run toward discipline; I take the passive route because I know the process is going to be difficult if not downright painful.

It also takes time for the cleansing process to occur. I don't know about you, but I am not always the most patient person when affliction or discipline comes. Maybe you're scared now that I've let you into the bizarre workings of my mind, but I really hope that you're encouraged to see the spiritual in everything--even in mundane tasks like washing clothes. The Spirit teaches us all we need to know (I John  2:27) and God's word is useful for teaching us and disciplining us and correcting us and for training us in righteousness (II Timothy 3:16).

I am studying and trying to memorize Romans 8 this summer, and I am focused this week on verses four and five, which could explain where my seemingly erratic thoughts emerged as I watched the clothes being agitated by the washer. Romans 8:5 says, "For those who are according to the flesh set their minds in the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit" (NASB). Know that the God who offers you cleansing through the blood of Jesus Christ has a totally different thing in mind than most of us when he places agitation that accomplishes discipline in our lives, and know that he loves you enough to use the events of your life to show you your need for him. Remember Psalm 12:1, which teaches, "Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid." Don't be stupid when the agitation comes! :)

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. If you have concerns or questions, I will do my best to answer them privately. I will publish comments at my discretion publicly if they glorify God.

Popular posts from this blog

An Uncertain Affinity (2 Cor. 4:7-11; Gen. 3:16)

-
Image
Today in my devotion time, I came across a word that led me to another word. Can I say that this is my usual, lifelong problem in reading dictionary entries . . . I have a hard time stopping.  It’s a real problem. ☺ The word connected to the word I was looking up about the tabernacle was skeuos . In the Greek, this word carries the meaning “of uncertain affinity; a vessel, implement, equipment or apparatus (literal or figurative [specifically a wife as contributing to the usefulness of the husband]):--goods, sail, stuff, vessel.” I got caught immediately in the first part: “uncertain affinity.”  Uncertain means “not able to be relied on; not known or definite.” Affinity means “a spontaneous or natural liking or sympathy for someone or something.” Putting these two words together is something of an oxymoron, which in the Greek literally means “pointedly foolish” because of its seeming contradiction. How in the world can you have an affinity for something you don’t know? How...
Read more

Letting Go Is Hard (Hebrews 12:1-2)

-
I sit among boxes piling a bit higher each day as I pack my life up once again. I say again, but in the grander scheme of things I haven’t moved that often in my 33 years of married life, and since the kids were born, I have only moved three times until now. We will be renting for a while until we can find a place to land, so I am purging things much more robustly than I have ever done with any other move. Sorting through 33 years (plus some things I had before marrying) has been utterly distracting, difficult to accomplish, and slow to finish. Homes need things, and things need a home, but I am finding I have held on to far too much over the years. Letting go is hard. Stuff.  Too much stuff. Merriam-Webster defines stuff as “materials, supplies, or equipment used in various activities: such as personal property.” By this definition, we own what we need to DO something. I have done much the last five years while I have not been in the classroom daily. Pottery was the first thing ...
Read more

Under Construction (All of the Bible . . .)

-
Do you remember the logic  🧩 (or riddles or analogies or challenges—not sure what to call the kind of word puzzle I mean) of childhood past where one was required to look at a grouping of words and figure out based on their arrangement what they meant together? Something like this one below: CONSTRUCTION soul The correct way to solve it would be soul under construction . If you notice, construction is weighty, and the soul is small under the burden of change. Maybe it has seemed quiet to you lately from this quarter. It is true that I have not written in a while, but it has not been because my soul has been absent of either noise or the quiet contemplation of time spent in the Word. I have been wrestling with myself, not with New Year's resolutions but with what I know about God, with the disconnect I sometimes feel between living out truth versus what my flesh wants in all its ugliness. There is the other side of wrestling, however, when it goes on too long without acti...
Read more