​Pencil Through A Baggy Of Water
(Trust)
 
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.  Psalm 56:3
 
The Basic Bible Truth
 
It is a challenge for each of us to trust God implicitly.  We find it a bit disconcerting to put total trust in someone who we cannot see, or touch, or hear.  But God never fails those who put their trust in Him.  We find ourselves lacking in faith.  It is a process, really.  If we will start small and find that we can indeed trust in a small thing, it then becomes easier to trust in increasingly more difficult things.
 
The Object
 
A Plastic Baggy, The Ziploc Type
Some Water
A Couple Of Pencils

An average Ziploc plastic baggy, when filled with water, demonstrates a remarkable self-healing tendency.  The polymer, of which the bag is made, seals back against the body of the pencil, with no leaks.  You can use round or hexagonal pencils.  I usually hang the bag over a volunteer’s head and begin spearing the bag with pencils.
 
The Lesson
 
Fear can be debilitating.  The uncertainty of a situation may cause us to make wrong choices or simply push us to the point that we don’t make choices at all.  We choose to do nothing.  In life, we will face difficult times, and how we deal with those moments can affect the methods we will accept as suitable solutions the next time a challenge comes our way.
 
Fear comes in a variety of circumstances.  There are the phobias, the things that just make us uneasy every time they pop up.  We just don’t like the situation at hand.  For me, spiders fit in this category.  I dislike spiders—intensely!  My very early years were spent living on a farm in central Kansas.  We did not have indoor plumbing in those days, and up until I was 5 years old, I learned to use what is commonly called an outhouse.  Beyond the cold in the winter and the heat in the summer and the wet when it was raining, were the spiders.  I can still to this day remember the big “daddy long legs” creatures that crawled all over that little structure—and shudder.  My method of coping with spiders now is to squash every one I find.  My cousin, on the other hand, has a Phd in entomology and has informed me that spiders eat other unlikeable insects and should therefore be left alone and allowed to wonder through the house.  I strongly disagree.  I understand his rational, but choose my own way in spite of his recommendation. 
 
While it is true that most spiders will not bite, and many of those that do, if left alone, will choose not to as well, I do have one instance in my life to draw upon.  I was getting ready for work one morning, slipped on my work boots, and headed out the door.  My big toe began hurting quite badly, so I stopped in the car port and quickly slid my shoe off and as it fell over, what I know as a “wolf spider” came crawling out of my shoe!  Needless to say, it did not live a long and happy life.
 
So why do I tell you these stories?  In life, there are things that creep up into our lives that make us uneasy.  We may even have had an experience or two with it, and know what it is capable of.  It is those moments when we need to be walking closely with our God.  It is those times that we need to place our complete trust and confidence in Him.  What that translates to is basically this.  If we know the Word of God well, if we have studied and prayed and have a relationship with Him as we should, His Holy Spirit, living inside us, will quietly direct our ways and paths.  We can follow His leading with confidence that the potential danger we are looking squarely in the face, He has seen before and knows much better than we, how we should approach the situation, or even at times, run away.
 
I have a little demonstration today to help illustrate how this might work.  We will place a volunteer here on this chair in front of me and ask them to sit facing the group.  This, in my left hand, is a Ziploc brand baggy filled with water.  I have filled it with warm water by the way, should this demonstration go horribly wrong.  Now, as I hold the baggy above their head, may I introduce to you, a handful of pencils.  I intend to shove each of these pencils completely through the baggy of water, while this baggy of warm water stays right here.  About now, my volunteer is wondering why they volunteered for such a foolhardy circumstance.  Everything about this spells disaster.  But, I am going to remind them that at no time in the past have I ever done anything that could even remotely be defined as dangerous, or harmful.  At no time in the past have I ever poured water on their head and gotten them soaking wet.  And I am not about to begin doing those kinds of things now.  I am simply going to remind them that they can continue to trust me.  I know what I am doing.  I am a trained professional, after all.  
 
As I poke each pencil through the baggy of water, you will notice that not even one drop of water is seeping out and getting onto this wonderful head of hair.  That is because I am aware that this baggy is made of a polymer that is flexible enough to close back in around the pencil poked into it, creating a water tight seal.  I would never place this volunteer in a position in which they would lose.  They can trust me in these types of situations.  And the next time, if there ever should be a next time, we now have this experience to draw upon, and they know how I acted here, and that they can trust me.
 
Our walk with God works in much the same way.  We experience an episode of life, respond to His guidance, and learn that the next time we see something like that again, we can continue to trust with the same positive results.  It is a good way to face life.  When unsure, run to God and trust His leading.  He will never fail us.
 
 
Scripture taken from the Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

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