A few days ago I thought I had lost my front door key.
I had been to spend the evening with a friend who lived about ten minutes walk away and, upon leaving the house and locking the door had slipped the key into my trouser pocket.
When it was time for me to leave my friend kindly gave me a lift home, but when I got to the front door I discovered that my key was not in my pocket. I searched my bag in case it was in there and also the left hand pocket of my trousers, but to no avail. Thinking that I may have left it at home I rang the doorbell hoping that my husband would hear and answer, but after three attempts and and calling his phone there was no response and I assumed he had fallen asleep.
By this time I was beginning to get a little panicky and considered calling my next door neighbour who had a spare key to my house. However, the lights were off and I did not wish to disturb her as it was quite late. After trying my door bell several more times I called my friend and asked her to check if the key was anywhere in her house. She did so, searching on the table, the settee where I had been sitting, including down the side and underneath… but it was not to be found. She drove back to see if she could help in any way and suggested I call my husband again.
Just as my finger went to the bell the upstairs curtains parted and the figure of my husband was sillhoueted at the window. I shouted up to him that I had lost my key and it wasn’t long before I was back indoors. The key was not hanging on its hook, confirming that it was indeed lost.
Feeling unsettled and frustrated I went to bed, and in the morning thought I would retrace my steps back to my friend’s house to see if the key had dropped anywhere along the way. I looked on the pavements, pathways, grass verges and gutters, but nowhere did I see the reassuring sight of my brass key with its distinctive red key fob. Rather sadly I went home again to have some breakfast, thinking there was no point in looking any longer. If it wasn’t anywhere in my friend’s house then I would have to accept that it was lost.
I put the kettle on and stood in the kitchen idly putting my hand in my back pockets while I waited. My fingers touched something hard with a familiar and comforting shape…it felt like… could it be…surely not… was it the missing key? Disbelievingly I pulled it out of my pocket and looked … yes it was!
Relief flooded over me and I reflected that it as so ironic that what I thought was lost was very close all the time; it was actually on my person, but in a different pocket where it hadn’t occurred to me to look. I think I had forgotten that there was a back pocket on that particular pair of trousers!
Then a further thought came and I knew that God was trying to teach me something. How often do I worry and struggle with issues when God has already provided the answer? It is so close, already near at hand, maybe in a Scripture verse or a song, that inner still small voice of the Holy Spirit, a word of wisdom that someone has given me.
I think that sometimes we are so conditioned to think in a particular way, through habit, routine or perhaps stubbornness, or we don’t fully access the resources God has given us. Maybe fear of fully surrendering or trusting Him and taking Him at His word? Or a reluctance to discipline ourselves to spend time in prayer and becoming familiar with scripture at a deeper level? I know this is an area where I need to be more focused.
What is your missing key?
What blockages or blinkers are preventing you from finding and grasping the truth of what God is saying, or what ‘pockets’ do you have which you have forgotten about or didn’t know were there?
It’s worth considering.
God is always willing to give us wisdom, and the missing key to our problems.
‘ If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ‘ James 1:5 (NIV)
So when you feel lost, confused and don’t know the answer, remember to ask, seek, and trust God to show you the missing key.
It could be nearer than you think…
Possibly even in your back pocket!