“Now if you are displeased, I will go back.”
Numbers 22:34
My friend Dave was showing me a large crocheted table runner that his wife, Patti, just completed. When I asked how long it took to make, he turned it over, pointed to a knot near the center, and said, “See this little spot? Well, I was sitting next to Patti when all of a sudden she dropped her hook and moaned, ‘Oh no!’ She said she had made a mistake — the ends of the threads weren’t meeting like they were supposed to. It took a long time, but Patti was able to trace her crocheting way back until she located the point where she had dropped a stitch. Then she proceeded to unravel all her work until she reached the error. Before the evening was up, there was this huge mound of crinkled thread by her side. But my wife’s a trooper! She just picked up the stitch and started the pattern all over again!” Most people wouldn’t have noticed a dropped stitch in that table runner, but Patti noticed. As she would say, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing right.”
It’s the way God calls us to live. If the Holy Spirit reveals that we have made an error, it’s pointless to go on unless we go back to the place of departure.
Sometimes you get so far in life, then realize — oh no! — the threads just aren’t coming together; you’ve made a mistake somewhere along the line. Your sins have come home to roost. We do ourselves a disservice when we merely make a quick midcourse correction. If you want the ends of the threads in your life to come together, then ask the Holy Spirit to show you where you “dropped the stitch.”
Lord Jesus, You have given me a life to live, and I believe it’s worth living right. May I not wink at small sins. Give me courage to go back and make things right with those I have wronged.
