The Dreaded Cord Basket

Have you needed a cord to charge something recently and had to go looking for it? I have a dreaded cord basket in my house. A few of the cords and adapters are probably 15 years old! Maybe we'll need that FireWire cable or that 12-volt power block in just that size again someday. Who knows what it even connects to?

They keep changing what a USB cord is! I know it's supposed to be better, but I think it just sells more accessories that will end up in the basket at some point.

One thing is for sure. You need the right connection for your device to get power.

Sometimes the Holy Spirit talks to us through everyday things, like the cord basket.

He asked me, "What's the right connector for you to have the power you need, Sam?"

"Oh. Well, I guess that's your Spirit, Lord. Hmm, how do I connect with the Holy Spirit?" I pondered.

Pray, worship, surrender, trust. I settled back on that word ABIDE.

I want to stay connected, not tethered like a cord, but like Paul writes in Ephesians 3:17, "Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong." I need Him to abide in me, and to abide in Him.

Fully Known

I was writing about and thinking about His love last week, understanding how much God loves us, and here I am today. He's leading me to Ephesians 3:14–19, a prayer for us, all God's people, that we might understand "how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is."

The only way to know is to experience the love of Jesus Christ, even though that's something we can't completely do with our human limitations. Right now we know a little part, but someday we'll fully know and be known (1 Corinthians 13:12).

Can you imagine never having to worry what someone thinks or knows about you ever again, because they already know you fully?

Great news! I'm not complete yet, but He knows me fully.

Even just before I sat down to write this, I was contemplating some things I've done that were really dumb.

In a past job, I tried to do some things that were way too complicated and difficult for me. I didn't ask for help. I didn't ask for permission. I had a plan, and I just kept forging ahead.

Yeah, I got there, and it worked out okay. I learned some things, but I was the only one who could understand the mess I had made of some things. No one else learned with me, and I could have brought some people together on a team to make it happen.

I was just letting that tinge of pain and anxiety sit for a moment, thinking, "Why did I do that? Why is this coming up now? What should I do with this?"

I didn't get an answer until just now.

"Sam, I knew you before, and I know you now and in the future."

Ah.

It's not about me using that memory to fix something right now, or feeling remorse. I'm fully known and yet fully loved with a love wider, longer, deeper, and higher than I can understand.

Never Without Help

What a relief. I can think about that memory again, knowing He was with me even then. There isn't shame in being incomplete. The painful part is that I thought I was alone and without help.

But I'm never alone. Never without the help I need.

Sometimes I'm disconnected or unplugged temporarily, or maybe that's even an illusion. Maybe I've just lost my awareness of the One who has been with me all along.

I want to connect through the Holy Spirit and be empowered by that love. Just remain in it.

It's not easy, but thankfully there's a connection that's always available, and it doesn't keep changing.

Thank you, Jesus, for making yourself "findable" to me and uncomplicating love by bringing it to us.

Like Paul, I pray:

"May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God." (Ephesians 3:19, NLT)