Looks can be deceiving, that is why as Children of God, we walk by faith and not by sight! Have you ever been fooled by an optical illusion? An optical illusion (also called a visual illusion) is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality. The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with a physical measurement or the starting point. If we allow them, our senses can, and most assuredly will establish our perception.
I used to lay floor tile, and one thing I learned the hard way was, never use a wall as the starting point. To the eye, everything looked straight, it made sense to start in the corner and position the tiles on the floor, along the base of the wall. However, because of many contributing factors, the walls and floor were not "plumb"! Initially, as the first couple of rows were placed, everything seemed good. The uneven course the tile was taking was not obvious to me. Several workers passed by and commented that the tile seemed "crooked", but I arrogantly ignored their help because I was "too" close to the project to see the problem and my perception was off!
Precise measurements are essential for the long term success of any project. Take for example, Road Surveying, the surveyor takes every precaution to ensure that the correct measurements are calculated and thoroughly documented. As the road is being constructed, measurements are checked and rechecked for accuracy. If the measurements are not followed precisely, the result will be disaster. What may begin as a fraction of an inch off center could ultimately be miles off at the end!
My tile project suffered this same dilemma on a smaller scale. When I finished laying each tile and stood up, I was shocked, my floor was at a complete angle. During the course of the work, I had noticed that with each row, the positioning of the tile had become more difficult. I had to cut more and more of the tiles to make them fit. During the project, many of my coworkers attempted to tell me that I was in trouble, in fact one person even asked me to stand up and step back to get a better vantage point, but foolishly, I refused. I felt confident about the integrity of my starting point and the guidelines I had chosen to follow. I never considered that the walls and floor may have settled over time because of a poor foundation or that the measurements were taken carelessly, but for whatever reason, unknowingly, I was adhering to an illusion and my starting point was crooked.
The term plumb, means the "exact center". As believers, to be on point or inline, our exact center must be Jesus. When He is the center of our lives, everything, regardless of appearance will be straight! He has been present during every phase of the building process and He is aware of every crooked place the enemy has prepared to cause confusion.
Satan bends and twists the circumstance we see to pervert our perception. His mode of operation produces "optical illusions". He accomplishes his illusions when we foolishly agree with him by operating in our soulish realm of emotions and step out of the position of faith! When we agree with fear, anger, hurt (a fancy word for unforgiveness) jealousy, depression, and sickness we are laying the tile of our lives on a course for separation, financial difficulty, anguish, mental torment, and death. The devil has one goal, to divide and conquer! That is why, as believers, we walk by FAITH and not by sight!
When we establish Jesus as the center and His Word as our guideline. Our efforts will produce the God quality of life. The Kingdom of God is Righteousness, Peace, and Joy in the Holy Ghost! When our lives are "plumb" the amazing fruit of success will be obvious. God's measuring stick has always been Grace and Mercy, these guide lines will always produce a clear "Plumb Line", LOVE. "Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for anything." (1 Peter 4:8 MSG) and "Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end." (1 Corinthians 13:4-7 MSG)
My friend, God Desires to establish a "Plumb Line" within each of us. He wants to build our lives on a firm, stable foundation. He will set our feet upon the Rock and on the Rock of revelation of God's gift of grace, Jesus, He will build a strong and mighty home. He places people in our lives to keep us centered and to help us see the "big" picture. When we choose to ignore the law of grace and follow judgement we cannot see truth.
You may have made some decisions to trust in the integrity of what seemed right. In fact, everything in your life may be determined by perceived situations. Your concept may be that, this has been the worst year of your life! STOP RIGHT THERE, DON'T LAY ANOTHER TILE! Stand up and look at your situation through the eyes of grace and mercy. It is never too late, stop cutting away at the truth to make it fit the lie. Do not move the wall to fix the floor! Allow the Holy Spirit to rearrange the circumstances for you. Whatever mess you find yourself in, He is the master carpenter and whatever changes are necessary, He will make them without damage to you or your "floor". You may me saying, "Can He fix it?" and my reply is, "YES HE CAN!"
This past week, Extreme Makeover came to Bastrop to build a house for a firefighter that lost her home in the wildfire. Hundreds of builders, contractors, and volunteers converged on our community to be a part of a miracle. Regardless of the people, money, or materials needed, the entire project required one essential element, accurate measurements. The project manager had many responsibilities, but the most important one was to ensure the integrity of the structure by maintaining adherence to the "plumb line" or the measurements. At the end, after the hours of labor, the shout of victory was shared by all..."MOVE THAT BUS!".
Just like this, when we allow the Holy Spirit to maintain our "plumb line" our structure will be sound and when the shout of victory comes, it will be nothing short of a miracle!
Today, don't wait for a miracle to happen, yield to the prompting of the Holy Spirit, and in love, Be someone's miracle! Then we will all say, "MOVE THAT BUS!"
