A Mess of Tangles
By Shauna Leis
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.”
1 John 2:1
My darling family is so very precious to me, and it pains me to be away from them so often with my sales consulting position. However, my precious husband fulfills both roles of mom and dad while I am away, and I get to hear all of the stories once I have returned home. Most of the things with the home and the children get done and are done very well while I am gone. He will do the laundry, reheat the meals I have prepared before leaving, give the kids their baths, etc. You know, normal household activities that have to happen daily, even while I am away.
There is one area, though, that Tony struggles with, just because it is so very foreign to him, and that is brushing Grace’s hair. Okay, not just because he does not have much hair himself, but Grace definitely even has more than her fair share of hair. Now that she is four years old, her hair hangs down almost to her bottom and is so thick that even I sometimes have trouble rinsing the soap out of her hair. It takes numerous cups of water to get all of the soap out, and then we have to spray leave-in conditioner and begin the task of brushing it. Tony typically takes a few quick swipes through the hair and calls it done. He gets the big tangles out, but sometimes there are small ones lingering underneath that, overnight especially, build into a big mess of tangles.
Once I come home, I will spend quite some time going through Grace’s hair with a brush and smoothing out all of the tangles. If I can just spend some time going through Grace’s hair in the evening, getting all of the tangles out – big and small, then the morning times are much less stressful for all of us.
God recently taught me a huge correlation between this and sin. It is imperative that we, too, deal with our sin issues quickly so that they do not become a big mess of strongholds in our lives. Ephesians 4:26-27 says, “‘In your anger do not sin’: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.” Please recognize here that it does not say the anger itself is the sin as even Jesus had righteous anger when it was required. What it does say is not to hold the anger in and let it fester until it becomes a root of bitterness and rage. The verse says to be sure to let go of your anger before you go to bed (Yes, this may indeed call for many sleepless nights as it has for me, too!) so you will not give the devil a foothold.
So, just like Grace’s hair, sometimes our lives, too, need a bit of attention. Proverbs 28:13 says, “He who conceals his sin does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” How can we be assured, though, that is it? How do we know that just confessing our sin and turning from our ways will bring us mercy? Because God told us it was true. 1 John 1:9-10 indicates, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Even the psalmist knew this in Psalm 32 when he said, “Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD’ - and you forgave the guilt of my sin.” God was faithful and forgave the sins of the people who came to Him on their knees with a tangled mess of sin – both big and small – and worked it through with them to bring them back to righteousness.
Also, we can be proactive in protecting ourselves against sin from the start. When we know God and His Word, we can fend off the attacks of Satan in our lives. Psalm 119:11 indicates the psalmist has “hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” There is only one weapon that we have against the attacks of Satan and his minions, and that is the word of God hidden in our heart. Knowing God’s Word results in us knowing God better, and that is a win, win situation for everyone. Will you turn to God today and ask Him to work out the tangles in your life?
Pray with me: Lord God Almighty, how we bow low to You knowing that we are sinful creatures, and You are a very Holy God. Forgive us, Lord, when we fail You and sin – especially when we leave those tangles in our lives unconfessed to become bigger and bigger messes. Lord, show us how to bring them before You as the beginnings of sin so it is much easier to work through with You. We know that we are not worthy to stand in Your presence, except through the blood of Jesus shed for our forgiveness. God, we love You so very much and pray all of this in the name above all names, Jesus Christ! Amen.