I was recently cleaning up an extension cord at work that we no longer needed to use. Due to the area the cord was and the high traffic it experienced, we duct tapped it to the floor. I’d love to know what tape our production guy used, as it was a gem to get off the cord. When I pulled the cord up, the tape proceeded to wrap around the cord and stick to itself in parts. I found myself saying “would you get off yourself” to the tape. Eventually, frustrated, I gathered the cord, took it into a room, found scissors, and started to clip at the tape to get some sort of edge that I could pull to strip the cord of the tape. After clipping and taking parts off, I was able to successfully pull the tape off in a manner that reminded me of striping the casing off wires.
The whole process stopped me in my tracks at points as the irony of my comments and experience hit me. What I was saying and doing resembled our walk with Jesus. I’llexplain how.
Have you ever known anyone who was so full of themselves it’s like they were wrapped around their own little finger? You know, the one who always makes things about themselves. Always puts themselves first. It’salways “me, me, me”. The one where you have to say “Oh my gosh! Just get off of yourself already!” Kinda like the duct tape. Maybe sometimes that person is you. You get so stuck on yourself that it doesn’t matter that someone else is trying to clean you up and get you to a place of rest.
What about the process I had to do to get the tape off itself? Having to clip and trim the extra pieces that weren’t’ needed in order to see what was still stuck. Clipping so that there was an edge to pull to free the cord of the tape. The stripping it took.
Sound familiar? Anyone see where I’m going with this yet?
“Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” John 15:2
“Let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”Hebrews 12:1
Just like the tape, that was wrapped so tightly around the cord onto itself, humans have a tendency to cling to themselves when change happens. They lean on their own thoughts, ways, and tendencies. When they won’t let go of themselves, God can’t work with what’s at the core. Just as I wasn’t able to wrap up the cord so that it could be put away and be ready to be used by someone else, when we cling to ourself instead of God, you have a harder time finding rest and God isn’t able to prepare you for the use He has for you.
God has to then strip you of the thing that is hindering him. He has to prune the extra “tape” in order for you to see where you are really stuck. He then has to clip at what’s left to create an “edge” to pull at so that He can successfully remove what is left that is keeping you stuck. The process may take a bit. It may take a couple of rounds of pruning. You may end up sticky from the tape. But take heart. God is removing the tape in order to lead you to a place of rest so you can be ready when he needs you next.
“The Lord is my shepherd; I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.” Psalm 23:1-3
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11
Just as removing stubborn tape requires peeling away layers, creating an edge, and pulling carefully, God must strip away the things that hinder us. The process may leave us feeling raw or sticky, but the ultimate purpose is restorative. God is freeing us from what is keeping us stuck so we can enter a place of rest and be prepared for what is next. We just need to “get off ourselves” and allow Him the opportunity to work.
