Errant trim nail—discovered, extracted, and discarded
After the plumber removed the trim nail that had pierced the pipe, I was fascinated by how thickly corroded it had become in two years and amazed at how well it had plugged the metal all that time. In fact, as I prayed with a group of women soon after, I kept seeing that corroded nail in my mind. I couldn’t shake it, so I shared the story with them and the analogy of contaminants penetrating the fresh, living water in the lives of believers. From that analogy, we prayed for freedom for Christians dealing with intrusive toxins.
In my mind, I figured we were praying for those who were facing addictions or various besetting sins—and I’m sure we were. Those things certainly seek to worm their way into the lives of men and women who endeavor to follow the Lord; Satan uses such devises to bind up, if possible, anyone who poses a threat to him or to the spread of his agenda. What I didn’t know when I shared my trim nail story, however, was that God was about ready to uncover one in my own life.
It didn’t happen right away. God takes His time with us; He not only prepares us for our calling, ministry, and service—He also prepares us to deal with uncomfortable or painful issues. And I believe that He has a due season for everything He does, and He works in us throughout our lives to help us to hear and receive what He has to say.
On a recent snowy day as I hunkered down at home, I began the day with prayer and time in the Word, but for some reason I was flooded with an onslaught of negative emotions. Thoughts of isolation, ineffectiveness, despair, and unacceptability bombarded my mind. I poured out the pain I was experiencing before the Lord. After all, the psalmist urged, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us” (Psalm 62:8; emphasis added).
And interestingly enough, God led, not one godly person, but two—right in a row—to call me that morning to share their love and encouragement. The trim nail was still hidden, but He was applying the pre-op salve of lovingkindness and acceptance in the Beloved (see Ephesians 1:6, KJV) through the words of these precious saints.
After the conversations, I determined to hear from God and spent most of the rest of the day reading several devotionals (many were listed here on February 10: http://www.firstofallpray.com/?p=4114). As I read, God spoke to me through them, confirming some key directives I had received from Him previously. By the time I was writing a summary in my prayer journal about everything He had said, the oppression shrouding me earlier was all but gone. As I arose from that task to a more mundane endeavor, however, a scrap of the old heaviness startled me as it leaped on my mind, demanding attention, flooding my thoughts with images of all the disapproval my life had generated.
And just then the Plumber, the Ancient of Days Himself, stepped in and spoke very clearly, “Disapproval”, and I saw a man’s hand pull a piece of trim from the wall of my heart pierced by a thickly corroded nail—disapproval itself. All the condemning images drained away, and I recognized what the Lord—my Plumber—had just done for me.
It all made sense to me. I had been plagued by the feeling of being disapproved much of my life—even as a believer who thoroughly trusted in the finished work of Jesus Christ, His precious blood shed for me, the wonderful regeneration of the Holy Spirit, and the living power of the Word of God. For some reason, I was not able to fully shake the nagging doubts and oppressive accusations despite how loved by God I knew I was.
God was showing me that the disapproval my parents expressed toward me as a child, teen, and young woman—even though I knew they loved me—had invaded my system and lodged in my soul. When Jesus came to make His home in me, the living waters sprang up to eternal life and all was forgiven and I was cleansed—but that errant trim nail of disapproval remained. Through the years, with every disapproving look or word, that nail was driven in deeper. I felt it, for sure, but was never able to identify what was going on inside. In fact, the Lord showed me, I had developed a “disapproval response mechanism” in my soul that was triggered whenever I met with anything that felt disapproving toward me—whether it was real or imagined. And if I left it unaddressed, or worse—I nursed or coddled it—and didn’t forgive as quickly as possible, that intrusive trim nail would redevelop its corrosion and the living water within would become tainted again.
And out of nowhere came my Plumber, the Savior of my soul, who simply removed the offending nail. Of course, I have questions: Why now? Why wait this long? But the fact of the matter is this: He did it. He pulled out a grossly contaminating, painful spike from my soul, and I am grateful. The flow of the rivers of life and the washing of the water of the Word will be all the more refreshing, sweet, and powerful.
My purpose in sharing this highly personal incident is to encourage you to press on in God even if things seem impossibly dark, oppressive, or disturbing. When the leak occurred in my basement, I was angry and upset at the mess and inconvenience. However, without that leak, the corroding trim nail never would have been discovered, and my water would still be contaminated.
A surfaced boil reveals that an infection needs to be addressed. Without that boil, the infection can spread undetected. A leak in the plumbing reveals that something is not right with the pipes—perhaps even contaminating the water. And chronic issues of heaviness, oppression, or sin in your life can be viewed as a wake-up call to press in to God and His Word all the more. Instead of allowing the oppression to bind you in shame or despair, use the devil’s attacks as your personal launching pad into the presence of God. The Lord will come through for you—every time.
And concerning errant trim nails:
1. Protect your heart by obeying God.
2. Keep the living water of Jesus flowing within you.
3. Trust Him to bring to light anything that may be hindering you—and watch Him set you free.
Dorothy
Read MoreWhat’s in your water?
The culprit behind my plumbing leak was a tiny trim nail which had been inadvertently driven into one of my pipes. And when the plumber removed the compromised section, I was disgusted to see what lingered inside of that length of copper. Rusty, dirty water spilled out into a waiting bucket. YUCK!
And then a light bulb came on in my mind. Yikes! The water pouring from my kitchen faucet had tasted funny for over a year now. I asked the plumber if that little nail, slowly corroding in the pipe, could make the water taste “off”. The answer was yes.
After the taste of my tap water went “south”, I began to use bottled water exclusively for drinking. I also started running the water from that faucet until I couldn’t taste it whenever I cooked, prepared coffee, or ran water for the cats’ bowls. I hadn’t trusted the water for over a year; now I knew why.
As Christians, we are vessels through which living water flows. Jesus told the Samaritan woman at the well, “Everyone who drinks of this water [well water] will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life” (John 4:13b-14; emphasis added). You and I have a well of water within us, springing up to eternal life. This is the water of life which the Lord has given to us; as long as we drink from it, we will never thirst.
Jesus also proclaimed on the last day of the great feast, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water’” (John 7:37b-38). Within you and me flow rivers of living water—waters of the Holy Spirit which arise through faith in Jesus (see verse 39).
And yet have you ever experienced a tinge of “offness” coming from the flow of your life? Have you ever thought to yourself in reflection, Something just doesn’t seem right; something tastes “off” as I think, pray or speak? Have you ever wondered, Why do the “waters” seem to get so muddy from time to time?
When that happens—and no Christian is immune—you may question the Lord and His faithfulness to you. But the truth is this: He’s still there; He’s never stopped helping you; His Word still speaks.
The well of which Jesus spoke is still inside of you—it hasn’t moved—with water springing up to eternal life. On top of that, rivers of living water still run deep within you, ready to splash through your life onto the lives of others.
I learned that a little trim nail penetrating a small copper pipe can foul the water in a home until it is discovered and removed. Every day, you and I come into contact with the world around us, its ways, its philosophies, and its loves. Every day, you and I bob and weave without even thinking, dodging suggestions and accusations, taking thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ, and declaring, It is written. And the living water within us keeps on flowing.
But from time to time, an errant suggestion or a bit of news, a stray thought or a random image finds its way into the plumbing. Before you know it, the water seems “off”; what was once clear becomes cloudy; what used to flow freely within you seems to be sluggish and stale.
Nothing’s wrong with the Source of that living water; but something has fouled it, nonetheless. The good news is that the Living God is very aware of the condition of the well within you, He knows the exact location of any contaminant that may have worked its way into the river—and He’s willing to share that knowledge with you if you’re willing to hear it.
Your job is to contact the Plumber and give Him license to inspect your “home”. He’ll locate and remove the offending pollutant, showing you exactly what it is and how it penetrated your defenses, and He will repair any damage to your “pipes”. You, in turn, need to kick-start the living waters within you so you can fully flush out your system, wash yourself with the water of the Word, and then commit to refortifying your godly defenses.
Leaks happen, whether in buildings or in your life. Water can become tainted in the spiritual realm as well as in the natural. And your God is big enough to walk you through any of it—or all of it. He’s ever present and He is beautiful for situation—for every single situation.
He can be trusted.
Dorothy
Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. Psalm 139:23-24
Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord,
and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7
Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Jeremiah 33:3; English Standard Version
Read MoreGod will come through—just let Him
After I finally conquered the task of shutting off the water to my house, I entered into the world of living without running water. Needless to say, first on my to-do list for Monday morning was to find a plumber.
Who would’ve thought that every company I called would be booked until Thursday or Friday? But I was in the “trust-God” mode now, and while praying over Angie’s List, I saw a company with “A” after “A”—along with three “F”s. As I read the negative reviews, they seemed picky to me, so I took the plunge on that plumbing company. Yes, they could come today—the plumber would be here in an hour. I was committed.
The young man called to say he would arrive in twenty minutes, and the voice I heard was kind, confident, and very polite. I sensed that God had directed me.
With the knock on the door, I opened to the plumber who was standing back from the door respectfully with his ID held for me to see it clearly. And he looked like a gang-banger.
But there was that voice again—kind, confident, and polite—and without hesitation, I showed him in and downstairs to the flood site.
Long story short, this young man treated my situation like a detective mystery. His enthusiasm at solving my problem was contagious; he thought aloud as he tinkered under my kitchen sink and respectfully consulted with me as to where I was comfortable with him opening the wall. He even spoke with my contractor on the phone about the pipes and possible diagnoses for the leak. While they were talking, I took the opportunity to pray in tongues under my breath for wisdom and supernatural direction.
After the phone call, he was about to cut a hole in my living room wall to access the pipes behind the kitchen sink when he stopped abruptly, rechecked under the sink, and said, “I don’t think I should cut here. Let’s go back to the basement.”
And what do you know, but with the very first cut into my ceiling he found the problem! An errant trim nail had pierced a copper pipe and served as a plug for a couple of years until corrosion finally ate away enough metal to allow water to escape. Of course, replacing the pipe in the tight place where the leak occurred was tricky, but with positive enthusiasm he tackled the problem and cleanly replaced the pipe.
He worked for three straight hours and thoroughly cleaned up after himself. Throughout the entire process, he maintained that contagious joy about solving plumbing mysteries. And when it came time to for me to pay the bill, he charged me for only two hours and the piece of pipe he used to patch the leak.
God had come through for me yet again. And to think that just the day before I had flown into a frenzy, letting my circumstances rob my joy! But thank God, I allowed Him to convict me and address my unbelief and panic; and when I repented, His peace returned like a blanket covering my heart and mind.
And as for judging a book by its cover—despite his appearance, this young man was God’s choice for the job. My pastor often says, “Keep the main deal the main deal.” And the main deal here was for me to seek God, resist panic, let Him lead my decisions, and to allow His peace to act as an umpire in my heart, deciding and settling with finality all the questions that arose in my mind (see Colossians 3:15, AMP).
When you keep the main deal the main deal and resist the onslaught of all the screaming lesser deals, then God can come through for you every time.
Dorothy
And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always]. Colossians 3:15
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