The thing about static...

I’m not that fond of static. Whether it’s spending hours adjusting the rabbit ears on my television so that the picture is clear or carefully reaching for a metal doorknob after rubbing my socks across a carpet, the dreary anticipation of the “shock” and unfriendly welcome of static electricity is enough to make a sane man go mad. In fact, I confess that sometimes I let the trivial nature of static ruin more of my happiness than the bravado of it all really deserves. (on a side note going back to the issue of rabbit ears- I’ve actually come to appreciate them more since the invention of digital TV. I didn’t think it could get worse then rabbit ears…I was wrong. :))

I currently live in a house that’s owned by our church right next door, and for some odd reason, the inside of the house is really attracted to the rush of static electricity. I’m not kidding, I’ve gotten shocked on my tongue from drinking water and once while I was brushing my teeth. You don’t know the frictional power of static until you’ve stepped one sock or wool sleeve into my front door. It’s insane.

What I’ve come to realize about static though is this- I give it way more power over me than it deserves, and I even let it dictate my happiness on occasion. I actually woke up the other day mad at my bed post because I knew, tangled up in my sheets, it was going to get the best of me as I reached to pull myself out of bed.

But isn’t that kind of how we cooky human beings can be sometimes with the “static” of life? We let the little things weigh us down, moment my moment, one shock at a time. We take it all in, never let it out, and let it well up inside of us like a big ball of electricity. We let it fester inside so long that most people are actually scared to come near US…the audacity of it all!

In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus tells us to come to him with our “static”, our worry and burden. He doesn’t want us to be the frustrated beings strategically trying to pull ourselves over the bed frame without getting shocked. He wants to take that burden, the little and big things, and lay them at His feet. Why? It’s because He can handle it. He can take it. He says His “yoke is easy and his burden is light”. I used to think that meant he liked eggs or something and was a good cook. I later learned that "yoke" is actually a fancy word for burden itself (What? What was that? Every single person reading this simultaneously laughing at how dumb I am? Nice. Me too…haha!)

But seriously- we have the best source of strength in this world through our Savior. How often do we take His promise to heart? Do we lay it out there for Him and allow Him to give us peace? Or do we hold it close to our chest, rub our socks against the shag carpet, and foolishly reach yet again for yet another doorknob?

The thing about static is- it hurts for a moment, but then it’s gone. Pain in life is fleeting, stress and worry like dust in the wind. No matter how big or little our static is, God can take it. He can and will make us new, and He can give us peace. That’s the thing about static. It’s not as powerful as it may seem when you hold it up and try to wield it next to the power of God.