While I was getting ready yesterday morning, I was jolted awake by the very loud SCREECH of the smoke detector in the hallway, reminding me every two minutes that the battery was low. It was so loud there was no refuge in our house where it could not be heard. Since I also work at home, it appeared that it was going to be a very long and very loud day. When confronted with anything technical, I am completely pathetic. My first default is always to seek out a family member who can fix things that aren’t working. But yesterday, there was no one to help. It was up to me.
I stood wobbling on a chair, hoping to reach the ceiling-mounted device, and twisted off the cover. The unit dropped down, hanging from a rainbow of wires. “And now, what?” I thought. After several minutes of confusion, I spotted a tiny tab which finally popped open the battery cover. Feeling rather triumphant, I replaced the battery with a new one, reinstalled the cover, and put away the chair. As I walked away, it SCREECHED again, even louder, as if mocking me. I popped the cover off and the battery in and out three more times before silence reigned, and my humility was once again snapped back into place.
And through this incident, God reminded me that in all tasks, there is learning, especially when it is outside our experience or skill set. There will always be struggles, but even in that, there is purpose in what He does…and in what He gives me to do. That is how we grow in character and ability, and that is how we grow in Him. We have no idea what God can do in us and through us. When I am overwhelmed by the turmoil at hand, crying out “I can’t do that,” His power is manifest in me. God is my source of strength. Take a look at all the passages of His strength and power in the Bible. There is reason for that. He never promised that life would be easy, but He has promised that He will see us through.
…but He said to me,
“My grace is sufficient for you,
for My power is made perfect in weakness.”
2 Corinthians 12.9
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