Tug-O'-War

You know what the game Tug-O’-War is and how it is played, right? Well, maybe if you aren’t into physical games, you don’t. If that is the case, then imagine two people or two teams, each on one half of a rope, pulling in opposite directions. There is usually a mark or goal that one team has to pull the other team across. I have seen that mark be a line on the ground and I have seen it be a mud puddle. It is a matter of strength, technique, and a small factor of luck if the two opposite sides are equal. Do you use a strong, steady pull hoping to win with just brute strength, or do you use non-rhythmic tugs and jerks, hoping that someone on the other side loses a grip or footing, giving your team a momentary advantage in numbers? It is a game that is fun to do and fun to watch.

What if you were in a Tug-O’-War match by yourself, except instead of one rope, you had one in each hand, and maybe on a foot or two? Each rope would be pulling you in a different direction. On which rope do you concentrate now? You can’t do all of them equally, that takes too much concentration. You would probably feel as though the people on the other ends of the ropes are trying to pull you apart.

Life is like that multiple set of pulls. If you are married, you have your spouse pulling on one rope, the kids pulling on another, your job or profession pulling on a rope, and maybe your need for personal time or a hobby pulling you as well. You have to concentrate on one rope and then another, fighting to hold it all together. Sometimes it gets to be just too much in one direction and then we have to let one go, either permanently or temporarily. We think we just can’t do it all, not successfully anyway. What if we could have someone else grab one of the ropes and hang on for a while?

We do have a teammate, just sitting on the bench, waiting to get into the game. Do we ask for help, or do we continue to try to hang on by ourselves? It is sometimes a sign of stubbornness that keeps us from seeking the help that is just waiting to get into the game. Sometimes it is time to let go of that stubbornness and call for that second teammate, especially when that person is the one we call God. It is tough to let go and ask for assistance, but that is what He has told us He will do for us. He is there to help whenever and however we ask Him.

Maybe the marriage needs some help. All marriages go through periods of stress and have problems. So, we ask God for help to pull on that rope for a while until we can pull it across the win line. Perhaps our finances are a mess or there just isn’t enough to meet the needs. Asking God for some aid, in the right amount and at the right time, can have some surprising results. I am not talking about buying a lottery ticket with the odds stacked against you of 256 million to one. It is not unreasonable to ask God’s help in finding a better job, for more pay or one that allows for more time with family.
Which rope do you need Him to pull today? Since He has an infinite source of energy, He can even help pull on all of the ropes at the same time. The best way He can do that is for Him to be in the center and He can be there when we make Him the center of our life.

We aren’t just in a tugging match with the natural world; we also have to pay attention to the spiritual world. We can’t forget that Satan is also out there. Sometimes he is pulling against us but more deceptively, he sometimes appears to be pulling for us in one direction. The problem is that we can be tempted into a solution for one pull which can cause us to lose a grip on something else. That is the most dangerous time. That is when we need to have God at our center so He can alert us to Satan’s ploys, and help us to defeat him with God’s help and strength. That is when we have to see that the rope Satan is helping us pull is the rope we must let go. When we seek God’s wisdom and strength, we can see that tempting rope for what really is and by letting it go, we actually win.

What parts of your life are pulling you the most? Where do you need to concentrate your forces? Which rope needs that extra help that is always available? Which rope do you need to release? Those answers are all out there, just waiting for your question. He who has all of the answers is there for the asking. When are you going to ask?