Are you Plumb ?

This is what he showed me: The Lord was standing by a wall that had been built true to plumb, with a plumb line in his hand. Amos 7:7

This past Sunday our pastor began his sermon by asking, “Do you believe God can use everyday ordinary situations to teach you powerful biblical lessons?” Of course, the entire congregation agreed that yes He could. Pastor went on to explain that last week he had moved his satellite dish from one place on his house to another. He had worked with it all afternoon but no matter what he did, he got not find the right angle that would receive the signal. Finally, he decided to give up, eat supper and maybe work on it the next afternoon. During the night he was kept awake. He continued to mull over this problem in his mind to try to find the solution. Since he was awake (and he could not watch TV), he went into his office to pray and study his bible. It was during this quiet time that he was able to hear from God. God prompted him to turn to Amos 3. As Pastor read over the text about the plumb line, he came to understand a couple of things. One was practical daily application and the other a biblical “forever” lesson. First, as he moved his dish and reset it in the new position on his house he did not adjust the base to plumb. Without the base properly set then it receiver was not pointing in the direction to pick up the signal from the satellite. See if it is off just a few centimeters at the base then it is a long way off out in space. The second lesson (and the one God really wanted Pastor and all of us to learn) was/is that Jesus is our plumb line. He is the one we are to measure up to.

Being plumb is a construction term that refers to being straight up and down. A plumb line is a string with a weigh on the end. When you hold the string at the top the weight makes the line hang down straight. Today carpenters tend to use a level more often than the plumb line to make sure the construction is straight and level but the concept is the same. As Pastor explained that Jesus is our plumb line, I began to ask myself a few questions:

How out of plumb am I?
What areas do I need to allow God to bring into plumb?
Whom have I used as my plumb line?
Will I ever be plumb?

These questions continued to roll over and over in my head through out the evening. I wondered, “God I am so out of plumb and unlevel, how will I ever get to where I should be? I quietly felt His answer, “allow me to adjust you a little at a time.” It was then that I thought about the old table I was refinishing, it did not sit level. Once I determined which leg was causing the out of balance,I flipped the table upside down, sand on the leg for a few minutes and then stand it back up right. I laid the level across the top. If the level bubble did not come to rest between the marks then I would once again sand the bottom of the erred leg. It took several time of doing this until the table finally sat level. See, I did not just take out a saw and start cutting away at the leg because it is better to take off a little at the time. God deals with us the same way. He gently moves us closer to plumb a little at a time. I am thankful that He loves me enough to not allow me to remain out of plumb.

Are you allow God to work to make you plumb ?

Amy

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