Broken Seal

Psalm 25:15 – My eyes are ever on the Lord, for only he will release my feet from the snare. (NIV)

How is it that when someone needs help to open a stubborn jar, that person is the only one in the house at the time? After trying the tea-towel method, the hot water, and tapping the side of the lid with a knife, I finally heard the pop of the seal, letting me know that I now had an open jar. As I was fishing out the contents of the jar, I began thinking that once opened, this jar would never again have that vacuum-sealed sound of being opened for the first time. It would be easier from now on, however, to open the jar whenever the contents were needed.

In my spiritual walk, I have discovered that anger has been like a vacuum-sealed jar in my life, which I had not wanted to deal with. But the intervention of the Holy Spirit has broken the vacuum seal of that anger, and no matter how hard I try to put the lid back on tight, it will not work. I need to take the contents out and deal with them. I can put the lid back on whenever I want, but the next time it is opened, it will be easier. Never again will it be as hard as the first time.

Anger can be a nasty root when it comes to the surface; it is even more damaging when we allow this root of anger to be directed at ourselves. So, thinking that it's okay to be angry at ourselves is wrong thinking, as I am now coming to realize. One day, that anger will come out and be lashed at someone else. And no matter how we try, once it is out, the damage has been done, and then the work to repair needs to happen. Also, the time has come for finding out why the anger was rooted there in the first place.

Why is it that we struggle so hard to hold onto our sealed lids? This we may never know, but the One who does know is waiting to walk gently with us through the emptying of the jar, no matter how long it takes. If we think that this problem doesn't apply to ourselves, then we can ask the Lord to bring someone to mind who is struggling today that He wants us to reach out a hand to. If we do this in faith, He will show us someone.

Romans 12:12 – Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. (NIV)

Prayer: Dear Lord, thank You for Your grace and patience in our lives. Thank You that You send Your Holy Spirit to minister to others through us. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.

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