Letting Go – The Zipper Parable

Luke 12: 27 -28

27 “Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.28 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!

Once, a Christian struggled with the demon of food.  It fought her and owned her from time to time, but she was a child of the King.  Over time, the King instructed her to be rid of the demon.  As she did, her clothes became too large.  These clothes, you see, once housed her and the food that had been her comforter and friend.  God instructed her to be rid of the clothing.  Other people needed to have access to those clothes, and she was both denying their blessing and clinging to the demon.  So, she was rid of most of the clothing.  As a matter of fact, she donated 13 bags of clothing and cried like a big baby as they went out of the door.  It’s really hard to let go — even of worn clothing that doesn’t fit any more.  There was no turning back, and she was obedient.  Soon, there was a pair of jeans in her closet that became too big.  Unfortunately, these were the last pair of jeans left in the closet.  She had been unable to find the time to shop ahead for the next pair.  So, she continued to wear the jeans — even with the Spirit instructing her to get rid of the jeans.  Her daughter had a ballet recital, and she wore those jeans.  By no small coincidence, she prayed about idols in her life and about asking God to rid her of anything that stood between her and Him.  As she left the house, the button mysteriously popped off of the jeans.  “It’s OK,” she thought.  They only have to make it tonight, and then I’ll be obedient.  At intermission, she went to the bathroom and zipped her pants.  The zipper did not stop at the top; however, and she found herself holding the triangular piece of metal with the zipper head in her hand.  No button — no zipper.  So, she took a safety pin off of her daughter’s ballet outfit and learned a big lesson about obedience — immediate obedience.  Shortly after she gave the pants away, her weight plateau broke and she was once again losing weight.  She also found clothes on sale and had everything that she needed for the moment.

The moral of this parable is that God will provide what we need.  When He asks us to rid our lives of things, He is also asking us to create space in which He can bless us.

Dear God, help us make room for your blessing and be assured that you will be faithful to continue to clothe and care for us.  We don’t have to hold on to our things because we can hold on to you.  Amen.

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