I was getting ready for work Monday morning and I went to put on my favorite necklace. It has two necklaces joined together, one shorter than the other. One of the strands has a heart on it, and I love hearts. That is why this is one of my favorite necklaces. When I got it out of my jewelry drawer, it had a knot in it. I tried and tried but just could not get it unraveled. I was in a hurry and did not have time to continue so I just put it up and thought, "I will try to fix it when I get home."
I was driving to work and thinking about life - home life, work life, friend life, and world life. I was so emotional at the condition of several of these areas. I started thinking about the word "unravel." The world sees the word unravel as a negative. It insinuates you are having an emotional breakdown, your life is falling apart, or you are in a situation that is not headed in a good direction. At times, I have felt all of those things, and they are not warm fuzzy feelings.
But with God, to me, the word unravel has a totally different meaning. If you look up the definition of unravel you would see "to separate or disentangle, to free from complication or difficulty, to make plain or clear." God is the master unraveller. When God unravels areas in our lives, He does it for our good. He makes situations more useful and productive.
Let me try to explain. I'll start with disentangling and freeing. When I feel like my life or situation is not in a good place, I normally experience anxiety and fear. This anxiety and fear can make me feel trapped. My mind is totally occupied but definitely not occupied on what it needs to be. I am anxious about the situation and fearful of the outcome. I am unraveling in a very negative way and probably just like Satan wants me to.
The only way to free myself is to change my focus. God wants me to surrender my life situation and allow Him to unravel and rework it. I just have to trust and turn it all over to Him. When my negative unraveling is happening, I have to replace those thoughts with God's Word to allow His truth to free my mind. Psalms 1:2 tells me to find happiness in the teaching of the Lord and to think about it day and night.
It might feel like everything is unraveling in the same sense that threads in a fabric can unravel, but God is the one who is holding all the threads. I have to let go of those threads in order to experience freedom. God can disentangle and free me from my anxiety and fear. If I think and ponder God's Word and spend time in prayer, I am allowing Him to unravel things for me.
My life can be full of messy thoughts, out-of-control emotions, and hurts of the heart, but God can untangle those thoughts, free me from my emotions, and make clear His truth. If I try to do those things in my own power, it seems all I do is make the knot bigger and bigger. God is the master unraveller who can disentangle my emotions and free me from anxiety and fear.
Another positive definition of unravel is to make plain or clear. To walk with God and allow him to draw me closer I have to be willing to give Him my daily life. I might consider my busy schedule as "working" for the Lord. Busyness does not give me time to be quiet and hear from God. At times, I might think I have an answer and solutions to the problems in my life, but I don't. I might lose my patience, say things I shouldn't, and not always respond correctly.
I am a sinner. Sin in our lives will always cause us to stumble but God allows us to get back up. We have to remember Hebrews 12:1: "Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Sin can entangle us, but God can untangle us.
When He untangles us, we experience freedom and forgiveness. He makes our pathway clear so we can run this race of life. God can untangle the lies we might hear or tell ourselves and replace them with His truth. He can take my knot of anxiety and fear and unravel it to reveal His security, peace, and comfort. God patiently waits for me to give Him my fragile heart and emotions so He can wrap me in the safety of His love. Trust me, there is no better place to be.
Now just in case you are wondering about my necklace. I was successful in unraveling the knot in my heart necklace. It will continue to be my favorite necklace but more importantly, it will be a reminder. A reminder that God alone has and holds my heart. He is able to free me from my feelings and unravel the knots from my life so I can share His love with others.
What kind of knots are in your life? What emotions are you struggling with? I pray you will allow the Master of all to have your heart. He is the One able to unravel the knots. Let's allow Him to take those unraveled threads and make a beautiful garment to cover our lives with His love, peace, comfort and hope. He can make all things beautiful in His time.
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Jill Johnson, a staff member at the Georgia Baptist Mission Board, finds spiritual applications in her everyday experiences as a wife, mother, grandmother and Georgian. She is available to speak to your church's women's gatherings. Reach her at jjohnson@gabaptist.org.
