Drills, Bits, and Truth

I’m helping a friend do some house repairs. Repairs that have required me to pick up a drill. (Insert sound track of primal grunts, in the tradition of Tim Allen!) A drill is definitely not a huge piece of power equipment. But still, it presented a bit of a challenge for a guy unaccustomed to that type of work.

Since I do know the basic concept of what a drill is intended to accomplish, I picked it up, held it out to my side with my arm bent at a 90 degree angle and began drilling. My friend (I guess I could say he’s my “drill instructor”!) pointed out to me that my body was not in line with the drill. Therefore, I was pushing at an angle, compromising the bit’s ability to bore straight into the wood and putting the bit in danger of breaking.

My “drill instructor” (Yeah, I like that title.) told me to stand behind the drill, aligning my body with the drill. Both then worked as one unit, freeing the drill to function as it was intended. The tool was easier to handle, I had more strength available than I had realized, and no bits were broken.

I see a correlation between my mishandling the drill, and my trying to manipulate God’s truth.

There are areas where I’ve held God’s truth just as my angled grip on the drill. “Special” or “unique” circumstances have been my excuse to not fully line up with what God says. Needless to say, decisions in those areas have remained weak. Easily broken. Easily compromised. I’ve lived with a victimized attitude of “why bother, I’ll fail, God will understand”.

It’s time to change my stance and line up with truth.

God has given Himself as my Lord and Savior. He’s given His Word to be my guide. He’s given me like-minded friends who offer support. God has given me what I need in order to live according to truth.

Standing in alignment with God’s truth will keep me from pushing against the work He is doing. Rather, I will be one with His purpose; receiving His strength. The results will be far different than my attempts to manipulate His truth from the angle of my circumstances.

This writing feels a bit raw. Because it is. It’s the beginning of a new chapter, and I don’t know exactly what to expect. I didn’t handle the drill perfectly, but I handled it far better after I listened to my friend’s instructions. In these areas where I’m correcting my stance, I will make mistakes. But I’m in a better position since choosing to be aligned with God’s truth.

And then, my drill instructor handed me a hammer….

Now, just in case you think I’m being kind of hard on myself, I’m going to hit you with this question…

What are you avoiding? In what area do you need to come into alignment with God’s truth?