Stripping It Away

This weekend was a special weekend in New Hampshire.  I believe it was the first weekend of this summer, where we had dry weather for BOTH days of the weekend.  For many folks, that meant time at the lake or the beach.  Others enjoyed a beautiful dinner outside with family and friends.  For some folks it could have meant a great hike in the woods.  For hubby and me?  We stripped and sanded our deck!  Nothing screams summer more than THAT activity.

As Juan pushed and pulled the sander across the planks of wood, I watched the old stain being removed and the beautiful wood that we used to put the deck together come shining through.  Plank by plank, the deck became softer, and the true wood was beaming.  After a few hours, we had accomplished the task that we had been waiting to tackle for so long.  Of course, the second task of re-staining/painting the deck will soon be upon us.  Yet, for now, there is a sense of accomplishment.

As the sander went back and forth, stripping off the old stain covering, it gently reminded me of how our dear Lord strips us!  There are many ways that he does this for us:

·         Stripping off OUR plan.  When our ways do not align with God’s ways, He always is able to strip us from the things we should not be doing – finding ways to nudge or (or sometimes drag us) to His will.  Remember the time when you thought YOUR plan was better than God’s?  Then your plan fell through?  He is stripping us of our own intentions to follow His intentions.

·         Stripping off OUR ego.  Our God believes in humility!  You need to look no further than his own son, Jesus, to see how humility can be lived in our lives.  When we get ‘too big for our britches,’ God finds a way to remind us to live a life of humility.  We encounter someone who needs our help or our time.  We are not ‘too good’ to help anyone in need.  The story of the Good Samaritan is a perfect picture of how we can live our lives and our God can strip our ego to live a life of humility.

·         Stripping off OUR sin.  When the weight of sin and wrongdoing covers us, Jesus comes in to strip us of all that ugliness and helps to let our light shine through.  Just as the sander stripped the old stain off and the beauty of the wood came through, such is the case with us sinners.  When we go to Jesus with our sinful ways, He quickly reminds us of the great sacrifice He made on our behalf, stripping all sin away from us, so that we can have a relationship with Him in eternity.

The stripping of us can be healthy, and always is needed.  When you believe things are being taken away from you or that your plans are being stripped away from you, remember that Jesus died on the cross to strip us of our sins – letting our light and beauty shine through.  It is time to strip the filthy garments and put on the robes of righteousness.

Heavenly Father, thank you for stripping us of things that are not good for us, especially stripping away our sin.  Your love will clothe us with all that we need – including eternal life!  Give us the simple faith to believe!  Amen.