A Quick Fix Rarely Works… Hello weekend readers. My musings today are exactly what the title above is! For these last few months we have had all kinds of things breaking down, from fixes needed on our big-rig, the small trailer, and our bodies as well. Al has a bum knee, and they say both of them are not really good! My computer was out of date and struggling with Microsoft’s new ‘stuff’ is enough to want me to throw technologies down the drain! And here’s another interesting “fix” from my brother-in-law, Adrian, which we live on his property. He has a wonderful spa until packrats have decided to reside inside of it. They chewed the wires and shut down the spa! I did learn something though, Adrian told me that those wires have a peanut-oil coating and guess who likes to eat peanuts–pack-rats! Is there a quick fix, nada.

Here’s a cute story about a “quick fix” and it’s pretty funny but it has a deep meaning as well. So here goes: “A little boy was home with his mom and dad one Saturday afternoon, and he decided he was big enough to go to the bathroom without anyone’s help. He unknowingly locked the door behind himself and couldn’t unlock it when it was time to leave. He started to panic and called for help. His dad tried to pry it open but instead, no-go. The bathroom was on the 2nd floor so dad had to get a long ladder and come through the window in pouring rain! His thank-you from his son was “Thanks, Dad,” and out he ran to play in the rain!”

Do we often see God like the father in that story? We get in a fix we can’t fix, and yet, there is our God, who comes in, bails us out, and sends us on our way. But think about this: “What happens when God doesn’t unlock the door or fix what’s broken or when our friends betray us, our finances take a nosedive, or our health worsens, etc.? That’s when we find ourselves in that dark room, trying to find a way out. And where is God in all of this? Sometimes God climbs right in, but often, instead of quickly unlocking the door, he sits with us because spending time with us and God is more important than quickly getting on with our lives.

In David’s Psalm 23:5-6, using the Voice Translation, we see a vision of how God takes care of our broken fixes: “You spread out a table before me, provisions in the midst of attack from my enemies; You care for all my needs, anointing my head with soothing, fragrant oil, filling my cup again and again with Your grace… Certainly Your faithful protection and loving provision will pursue me where I go, always, everywhere. I will always be with the Eternal, in Your house forever.”

What does this Scripture say to you? Indeed it is very powerful, but will we take it to our heart when hard times hit us and we want to scream to God shouting out “Get me outta’ here right now!” When those hard times crawl into our lives and yes–in our minds, the best thing we can do is first, breathe-in-and-out and then call upon God. Ask him to sit with you and show you something even greater than a quick-fix. And what would that be? Ah, the presence of the Lord, nothing else is better!

Gosh, now I want to sing that song, “Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place” or maybe in “my place” because the power of those words is the power of our Lord and Savior. He is always there when we need fixing, always there to calm us in the midst of our trials, always there to give us wisdom, always there to dry our tears and give us hope. There is nothing and no-one in this vast universe that can do any of this–except for God. So when you are in a fix go to God first, his power is there for you and his promises never end. AMEN.