A friend working on a home improvement project struggled to remove a screw on a light fixture. After twenty minutes of attempting to turn the screw, he took a break.
“I know the old saying, ‘Lefty loosey, righty tighty,'” he said. “But it wasn’t working.”
Once he rested from focusing on the problem, he realized he had been trying to turn the screw in the wrong direction. He returned to the project and was able to remove the screw on the first try.
How many of our problems occur because we try to turn the wrong way? Or attempt to force an aspect of our lives into the opposite of what God intended?
This commandment from the 30th chapter of Isaiah still applies to us today: “your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left” (v. 21, ESV). Through the prophet, God described the blessings he would give His people who followed His Word. One of those promises included “a song as in the night … and gladness of heart” (v. 29) to those who trust in Him.
When we’re frustrated that life doesn’t work out the way we want, we may need to stop and listen for God’s direction and walk in His way.
