Daily Devotional

Have you ever had an idea that seems like a good idea inside your head, but goes horribly wrong when you actually try it? Let me tell you about one of those times in my life.

I was 10, maybe 11 years old, and one of my favorite pastimes was playing with my large collection of stuffed animals. A few of them had recently been laundered, and I disliked whatever residual smell was left on them from laundry day. The smart thing to do would be to re-wash the stuffed animals, maybe changing the detergent or something. But no, I was going to take matters into my own hands. So I hatched a brilliant plan to re-wash my stuffed animals without using our washer and dryer.

For the washing phase, I filled my bathtub and chucked my stuffed menagerie in for a little soak. But how to dry them? Well, thought my ten-year-old brain, lightbulbs are really hot to the touch. One of those could probably dry something. So I took one of my stuffed animals and placed it on the lampshade in my room, directly over the incandescent bulb. In a brief moment of clarity, I moved the lamp to the middle of my room, just in case something bad happened.

A few minutes later, I heard a loud POP! from my makeshift dryer. To my horror, the lightbulb had completely exploded! What was left of it was smoking, and bits of glass were all over the floor. This was not good!

Quick physics lesson: when a lightbulb gets wet (in this case, from water dripping off a stuffed animal), it undergoes “thermal shock.” Basically, the combination of cool water and hot lightbulb causes the glass to crack. As a result, air fills the vacuum inside the lightbulb, and it explodes. This is exactly what happened to my poor lamp.

I panicked. How was I going to fix this? And all my stuffed animals are still wet! To make matters worse, my parents weren’t home and my grandparents were in charge. After deliberating for several minutes, I made the smartest decision that I had all day. I got my grandparents, explained the situation, and asked for help. They kindly helped me clean up the mess, with only a few snickers. Embarrassed, I decided to just use the dryer from now on!

As silly as that story may be, I think it illustrates an important principle. Many of us will go to great lengths to try to solve a problem ourselves, rather than asking for help. This is true of our spiritual lives as well; when we face a problem, a sin struggle, a worrisome situation, our tendency is to attempt to fix it ourselves, only asking God for help in time of direst need. How often I have done this!

James 1:5 tells us “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach.” God is more than willing to step into our messes, to give us wisdom and strength, if we just ask Him. How foolish is it to rely on our own strength when omnipotent help is available to us! So the next time you face a difficult situation or problem, remember my lightbulb story, and don’t try to fix it yourself. Ask for help!

English Standard Version (ESV)
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.