Have you ever made a purchase that required assembly and when you went about putting it together you noticed some of the pieces were missing?
I remember, just before Christmas, Mark and I had purchased a mini futon for Hudson’s room. It would be a place for him to read and hang out. 
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When the box arrived, I wondered if it made it’s route through the gorilla cage at the zoo before finding it’s way to us. One side was actually opened a tiny bit when it arrived and the box was a mess!
I hid the box in the garage and, seeing how banged up it was when it arrived, I meant to inspect its contents but never got around to it.
Christmas eve, after the kids went to bed, I went to the garage and began assembling the futon. To my disappointment, the bolts that held the legs to the futon were missing! I was frustrated that I waited until the night before to open the box since, by then, there was no time to take care of missing pieces.
I thought to myself…What’s Hudson going to do?!? All the pieces must be here for him to enjoy this gift! I began thinking of the drawer of nuts and bolts in the garage. Certainly I could make something from there work…nothing fit. Clearly, there were bolts made the perfect length and size for this gift. The only problem was…I needed to talk to the manufacturer and it was Christmas Eve!
As usual, God used a simple illustration to speak to my heart…
Just this past week, I was talking with a friend and they were telling me they couldn’t understand why they struggle to have an abundant, joy-filled Christian life like they see others having. They freely admitted to me that they hear truths from God’s Word and agree wholeheartedly with them, but when they get home from church, it “goes out the window”. They kind of just forget about it. Honestly, it was this particular conversation that brought today’s illustration to mind. You cannot enjoy a gift when there are missing pieces. God’s truths are pieces of that gift.
We cannot bury the gift in our garage, or settle for the fact that, upon inspection, there are pieces missing. We must unwrap the gift. Read the instruction book (God’s Word) and when things don’t work right or pieces are missing…go to the Manufacturer for what we need. Oh, and on another note…finding other solutions (like bolts from Mark’s miscellaneous drawer in the garage) to fix what’s missing never works!
The reality is, when I find myself in this place of discontent or disconnect – where I’m not enjoying the gift of growing in relationship to Christ – something is missing. Perhaps God has asked me to take a step of obedience and I neglect it or refuse. Perhaps He’s asking me to trust, or forgive, or believe, or confess. Maybe I have neglected to read the instruction manual.
The beauty of it all is that I can go straight the Manufacturer for what I need. He designed the gift of salvation and a relationship with Him for our enjoyment of Him. He created this gift with all the necessary pieces in place. When something is missing, He’s readily waiting help me. I simply need to go to Him.
Have you noticed something missing? Ask God to reveal to you what you need. And then ask Him to grant it. He is ALWAYS faithful and will do it. And, when in doubt (I know this is harder for the guys), refer to the instruction manual where solutions can be found.
By the way, the futon manager kindly sent my bolts right out to me. The futon ended up being Hudson’s favorite Christmas gift.
If we would venture more upon the naked promise of God, we should enter a world of wonders to which as yet we are strangers. – C.H. Spurgeon
I want to spend this life discovering the fullness of the Gift!
Ginamaria Lewandowski - Really needed to read this tonight. Thanks for sharing.
Jennie - Amen, Tammy! All we need to do is simply to ask Him!
Fran - lly needed this today Tammy, all too often this happens in my world and I am trying harder and harder to overcome it!! Thank you for your blogs:)
Devon - I admit, that I too often feel like the friend you chatted with…I am learning though…learning to walk in His steps, learning to TALK to Him when I KNOW i need to. The past few weeks I have been really talking to Him more & he is pouring His graces on me…I can see it and feel it. Thank you for another great Tammy On Tuesday!