THE FIXER
Kathy Bernard - Publisher


 

How many times have we attempted to fix something in our homes that needed repair only to realize we were not really qualified to do so?  At the beginning the job seemed simple and straightforward; a loose wire here or a bad plug there.  And naturally the big plus was thinking of all the money we would save.  Full of confidence, hopes running high, we started out with an abundance of tools and settled down to tackle the problem.

With luck we sometimes found success by chance, not because of trained knowledge. The high percentage of hours wasted away with no results to show for the time usually added up to frustration, a gaggle of screws, particles of broken plastic from casings and odd bits and pieces of parts that appeared to serve no viable purpose. Finally we had to concede we could not fix it ourselves.  Our skills were clearly amateurish and strictly “hit and miss”. Those “Fix-it” shops scattered within the community no longer looked like “scam” shops but became strong beacons of hope.  Even better the authorized service center for the product became the answer. Who better to attend to this but the manufacturer who knew and made this item? 

And so we swallow failure with new hope as we pack up all the tiny, broken pieces, gather the little springs that flew out of the item to the four corners of the room and put them into a baggie. The reality that a professional would have been cheaper in the first place is ignored and we are relieved to pass the chore into the capable hands of the manufacturer despite the smug looks of the clerks there.

Many times this is how we humans behave about the state of our lives.   Too often we try to “fix” our problems in the same way.  We have been taught to be self reliant, to be strong and not dependent on others and this has carried through even when we cannot find answers to the things that trouble us. After making a jumble of our lives we then seek to be “fixed” by doctors of the mind, soothsayers, mediums, fortune tellers, and anyone who claims they can tell the future and make sense of the past.  And we gladly hand over large sums of money to psychologists and psychiatrists in order to lie on their couches where we hope to find whatever peace they can offer. After these expensive professional sessions, some of us conclude the therapy given doesn’t quite seem to reach deep enough to the place that needs to be fixed.  The void is still there.  For who can know us so intimately that a complete solution can be found? 

Only when all other avenues have been explored do we go to our manufacturer; our Maker, our Heavenly Father in the person of His Son.  Only then do we go to Jesus Who understands our problems, sees our heart, and is a restorer of all things.  And He does not care if some of us have parts missing or damaged, because He is the Ultimate fixer.  He alone has the blueprints for each of us.  He even knows the number of hairs on our heads. (See Mathew 10:30)  He is our sole tool for coping with whatever life is dealing out. 

So how do we get to Him?  To pray about it is the first step. And placing trust in the almighty power of God through His Son Jesus.  Isaiah 41:10 states “Fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand”.

The second and perhaps the hardest thing is to leave the problem with Him to solve.  We cannot keep picking at the problem ourselves.  Once we ask for Divine help we lay that burden at the cross, confident it will be mended and made new.   And we thank Him in advance, knowing He will always come through for us.  And like the book of instructions we find in those boxes containing some new toy or electronic device, we too come with a book of instructions. It is called the Bible.

Unfortunately we cannot change what life makes us all face at one time or another such as a broken heart, sickness, disappointment, mental anguish, or the finality of a loved one’s death.  It is only after we have desperately tried to fix something in our lives any number of ways and failed that we recognize what was there for us all along.  For those who wonder what our Heavenly Father can do, open your Bible and you will find there all His promises and guarantees, all the love and all the answers mankind has searched for since the beginning of time.  The tools of coping with life are made plain if read with trust and faith. It is all in there plus the greatest promise given to all who believe in Jesus Christ and that is eternal life. Then there will be no more tears, no more pain or humiliation, and best of all no more death.  We will live in glory forever.

If you are afraid, read John14:27 in which it says “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.  Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid”.   If you are confused read Proverbs3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths”.  Broken heart? Try reading read Ps147:3 which will tell you “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” or 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17 which says “Now may the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, comfort your hearts and establish you in every good word and work”.  Lost a loved one?  Go to 2Cor 1:2-3 and find “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we our ourselves are comforted by God”. Divinely inspired by God this Book of Instructions called the Bible has every single thing necessary for living.  For God supplies our every need.

Our Savior, Jesus Christ is called the great physician, the great Healer.  Through His death and resurrection we can be confident of His love and protection for anything life puts in our paths.  In Mathew11:28 we can find comfort in His words which say “Come you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest”.  Family and friends comfort and offer encouragement and understanding on a human level but only Jesus can make us victoriously whole and free.  This does not mean we do not seek medical attention or the care of professionals.  No, God gives doctors and other trained people the ability to heal our bodies, to mend our physical or mental hurts.  But, we go to the head doctor first Who is Our Heavenly Father, and through prayer He guides us to the one who can help us most.

Sometimes in order to repair something and make it whole, it has to be taken apart.  God does the same thing with us.  He starts with the heart and soul of us. Through the trials of life God is sometimes rebuilding the “old” us and rebuilding a brand new person of great courage and strength.  And while He is rebuilding, He gives us the faith to hold on.   As long as we are here on earth we can be confident that each day we grow a little more in the ways of God for we know He is not through with us yet.

 "Be anxious for nothing,  but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.    Philippians 4:6 Be anxious for nothing,  but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your
requests be made known to God."    Philippians 4:6