Following God’s instructions for life-corrections

I’m no nurse, but last night I got to assist in a surgical procedure that began at 11:50 pm when my cell phone rang. It was Louisa, calling from downstairs. “Mom! I found a tick in my leg, and it’s sucking my blood!”

“I’ll be right down,” I said, leaving the computer and heading for the stairs. Sure enough, a small but industrious tick had chewed its way so deep into her skin its head wasn’t visible at all.

“We can’t just pull it out,” she said. “If the head detaches and stays under my skin, it’ll just keep sucking!”

As she stood on one leg with the other one propped up, I ran for my glasses, a tweezers, a paper napkin, and the salt shaker. “I’ve heard that salt kills ‘em,” I said. But after 10 minutes of stinging salt poultices on Louisa’s open wound, the tick was still flailing all 6 limbs, continuing to burrow deeper into my daughter.

“What about burning him?” Louisa said. “I’ve heard that works.” But in discussing how to accomplish that without burning her leg, we decided to Google for other suggestions.

Every site we checked favored a slow, steady pull with tweezers. “Get a tweezer-grip as close to the tick’s head as possible; then be careful not to twist, angle, turn, or do anything but pull it straight out.”

In order to be successful, we had to follow those instructions exactly.

The same thing holds true in the parts of our lives unrelated to tick removal. It’s especially important in our relationship with God and the instructions he gives us. As a matter of fact, he tells us that if we show disdain for his instruction, we’re fools. (Proverbs 1:7)

God instructs us on how to live well. By that I don’t mean how to become well-off financially but rather how to live with a rich supernatural peace to our core, no matter what life dishes out. Once we’ve trusted God with our lives, our very next thought ought to be, “What are your instructions for me, so I can be at my best?”

Scripture is full of them, and interestingly, God’s instruction is often paired with his correction. “Poverty and shame come to those who don’t care about instruction; honor belongs to those who heed correction.” (Proverbs 13:18)

That tells us we all need instruction and also gives the reason; right after we “get educated,” we’ll realize we need God’s correction, too. Once we catch onto this, our lives will operate like a smooth-running piston: instruction – correction – instruction – correction – instruction – correction, always moving closer to righteousness.

Last night, after Louisa and I learned exactly what to do about her tick, she followed instructions precisely, and sure enough. After a strong, straight, steady pull, out he came…. head and all.