Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Who is this Voice?

A few years ago, a new guy moved to my country neighborhood. While walking one day, I stopped to introduce myself and welcomed him to the area. I met his three beautiful short-haired dogs; I wanted to pet them, but they were unfamiliar with me so they kept their distance. The dogs are often outside playing with each other when I‘m walking by. They used to bark at me, but now they just basically ignore me. After all these years, the dogs and I still don’t know each other. They see me and I see them, but we’re still strangers. Sometimes I call for them to come closer but, since I‘m not their master, they don‘t pay any attention to my voice and sometimes run away from me.

While reading in the Book of John, I felt like my New Year’s priority should be to listen and follow the voice of Jesus more vividly in 2025. Let’s focus on Jesus’ illustration in John 10:2-5 TPT: “But the true Shepherd walks right up to the gate, and because the gatekeeper knows who He is, he opens the gate to let Him in. And the sheep recognize the voice of the true Shepherd, for He calls His own by name and leads them out, for they belong to Him. And when He has brought out all His sheep, He walks ahead of them and they will follow Him, for they are familiar with His voice. But they will run away from strangers and never follow them because they know it’s the voice of a stranger.” 

The gatekeeper was in charge of a large fold where several flocks were kept. The sheep only recognized the voice of their own shepherd and responded only to him. Believers are members of Jesus’ flock, so there is only one voice, one way, and one will for us. In a culture of exceedingly-complex living, the sure way to peace of mind, purpose, and meaningful commitment is found in knowing and following the true Shepherd’s voice. There’s a lot of false/evil voices in the world that we should run away from.

Jesus is faithful to speak to us about how to proceed in every area of our lives. God’s Word  reminds us that we can hear the voice of the true Shepherd: “Your own ears will hear Him. Right behind you a voice will say, ’This is the way you should go,’ whether to the right or to the left” (Isaiah 30:21 NLT). Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He made sure His disciples would not be left stranded. Jesus said to them, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you” (John 14:15-17 NASB).

When we hear the inside voice of the Spirit of Truth speak to our heart, we are to follow because we know Him. Sheep who follow the true Shepherd won’t be led astray. I have a long-time dear friend who phones and greets me by saying her full name. Since I’m very   familiar with her voice, she doesn’t need to identify herself. When I once mentioned this to her, we had a good laugh. It was just a habit for her to say her full name whenever she  called anyone.

The Key: I’ll be somewhere listenin’ for my name; and then I will follow Him wherever He may lead.

“Be Kind.”  Walk into almost any school, and you will see that reminder hanging on walls or recited in assemblies. For most of us aged ones, we were raised to be nice to others.  Now, because of bullying and the attacks on social media, the “Be Kind” message somehow has skipped much of this younger generation.  Parents, take note.

Yesterday, I, as usual, looked for the shortest line in the grocery store.  There wasn’t one.  The self-checkout lines dragged down the aisles, so I opted for the regular line.  The man in front of me told me go ahead of him since he had a full basket and was waiting for his wife who was in the bathroom, and I had only two items. I thanked him and, being kind myself, said that we should wait and see if she returned before he got to the cashier.  Then I noticed a clearing in the self-checkout row. My lucky day!

I left my line and walked a few yards to jump in that line.  My unlucky day.  The “clearing” was just a space left for regular shoppers to get through. The actual line, extending down the entire aisle, was longer than ever.  I returned to my place behind the kind man…at the same time a woman jumped ahead of me and signaled for her teenage son to bring their loaded cart from another aisle.

Referring to me, the son said to his mother, “Mom, she only has two things.  Let her go in front of us.”  Without looking at me, she answered, “She can go to the self-check line if she’s in a hurry.” The modeling done by that parent was distressing, and for a few seconds, I thought of saying that to the mean mom.  But God allowed for a different outcome.

The wife of the man in front of Mean Mom returned with their son, but instead of loading his groceries on the roller belt, he turned to me, speaking over Mean Mom and her son.  “You go ahead of us.  You were here first.”  (Which, technically, I was… until, that is, I wasn’t.)

“You are so kind,” I answered, moving ahead of his family. “Thank you so much” (which I repeated louder than I probably needed to after paying for my two bottles of salad dressing).

Why is it so many people are so self-absorbed that they ignore opportunities to help?  We know that doesn’t need to be the case.  Take my granddaughter, Mo, for example, who was driving to Steamboat Springs, Colorado, on her way to Wyoming.  With blizzard conditions late at night, she opted to drive slowly behind a semi-truck ahead of her, until, that is, a moose side-swiped her car.  When she pulled onto the shoulder of the road, she became stuck in the snow.

Soon, Mo saw a woman (who had pulled over ahead of her) running back to see if she was okay.  Then, two truckloads of Spanish-speaking men pulled in behind her.  When their trucks couldn’t pull her out, they crawled under her car to scoop out the snow.  A man hauling a trailer tried to tow her out, and even a cement truck driver came to her aid.  Nothing worked, but it was sacrificial Kindness in action. Fortunately, her uncle and his wife live only an hour away and were able to come to her aid.

Galatians 5:22 lists the fruits of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control.  As 2025 gets underway, perhaps we all can make that our New Year’s goal.                                                                                                                                                          Yes, I think that should win out over Mean Mom’s way, everyday.

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

Rags v Washcloths

All the washcloths in my bathroom are in the purple color palette. And when a washcloth becomes too worn, I’ll snip two sides of the binding and use it for a cleaning rag. This little procedure enables me to quickly distinguish the difference between rags and  washcloths when I fold and put away the laundry. One day I had multiple things on my mind and was simply operating by rote. I wasn‘t thinking about what I was doing, however, my goal was to take a shower. When I turned on the water, I noticed a washcloth draped over the inside handle of the shower door. I grabbed it, soaped it, and began my shower. After a few minutes, my brain started working and I thought, “This washcloth doesn’t feel normal.” I kept showering. After a few more minutes I examined the washcloth and realized it was a rag that I had  used to clean the toilet.

“We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT). Human nature loves to compare itself with others less than God. We aren’t apt to compare ourselves to ordinary people, instead we will compare ourselves to others such as Al Capone, Jesse James, or Marilyn Manson. When we choose self-righteousness over God-righteousness, we find ourselves taking a shower with a filthy rag.

When we make the mistake of comparing ourselves to others, we decide we’re not all that bad. Human righteousness is a big fat joke when compared to the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. A dead animal on the highway stinks; and our own attempts to be righteous stinks in the nostrils of God. God makes His comparison against His own righteousness and that‘s when we find ourselves stripped and holding the short end of a filthy rag.

The last car show I attended had a 1959 Chevy Bel Air and I headed straight for it. I enjoyed visiting with the gentleman who owned the car. He offered to pop the hood so I could see the engine. You know, you can have a magnificently-restored vehicle in pristine condition, but without an engine it’s not nearly as impressive. Our heart is like the engine. It’s hidden, but oh so important. Jesus said, “…What fills the heart comes out of the mouth” (Matthew 12:34 CEB). When God speaks of the heart He’s referring to the very center of our being.

I’m thankful that I can trade my filthy rag of self-righteousness for a renewed heart. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:9-10 NKJV). John the Beloved reminds Christ followers that God remains faithful to forgive our sins (shortcomings, failures) when we miss the mark. We can’t fix ourselves, but we can sincerely ask for forgiveness and the blood of Jesus will do the cleaning.

     “Let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting Him. For our guilty consciences have been sprinkled with Christ‘s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water. Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise” (Hebrews 10:22-23 NLT).

The Key: Never use a filthy rag of self-righteousness when God has a new clean  washcloth of His righteousness.

This year will be different.  This year will be the year I keep my New Year’s resolutions.  Don’t look at me like that.  I will. After all, it can’t be that hard to set aside an hour each day for exercise, to stop eating when I am full and to have alone time with Jesus each day. Three simple things, the trifecta for a healthy life.

If I were to look back at the last 10 years of my January 1^st articles, I would see the same thing written, year after year. I’m going to exercise more, eat less and pray often. I refuse to preview those stories because to see that I have failed those goals on an annual basis would be depressing, and who wants to start 2025 being depressed?

The good news is I have figured out why it is so difficult to keep these resolutions.  It’s the way I’m wired.  Yes indeedy, if in doubt, blame it on genetics. After all, that’s not the only area in which I struggle to do what I know I need to do.  Let me explain.

Before I became a Christian at the age of 27, I tried really, really hard to be a good girl. I tried harder at that than I do my New Year’s resolutions.  I wanted to please people, but I also wanted to please the angels, the saints, Jesus and God.  It was a lofty goal, and I failed more than I succeeded.  When I heard the message that there is nothing anyone can do in his/her own power to “earn” God’s favor, I realized why those times I took my angel to the playground to swing “her” was not the spiritual experience I wanted it to be.  (No doubt, referring to them with feminine names probably did not help).

Ephesians 2:8 reminds us that we are saved by God’s grace, not because we have performed to His expectations.  God’s gift to us is His son, Jesus Christ, who came to save us from our sins.  And just like my daily reminder to fulfill my New Years’ Eve goals, I daily have to remind myself that my good works do not earn me any grace points. So, why do I still try? (This is where that genetics’ thing falls apart.)

God’s grace-covering, of course, doesn’t mean that I have no responsibility in doing the right thing and serving others.  James 2:26 tells me so.  “Faith without works is dead.” If you read the New Testament, you will see dozens of scriptures that tell us works are not the cause of salvation; works are the evidence of salvation.       Legitimate faith in Christ always results in good works. Faith without works reveals a heart that has not been transformed by God, just like me saying that I am all about physical fitness without watching what I eat and spending time working out shows I am not serious about my goal to get in shape.

I find it comforting that God covers me with His grace.  There is nothing I can do to help myself in that area, and that assurance makes it easier for me to want to spend time in His presence, the third part of my New Year’s goal.

If it were just that easy with the eating and exercising part.

Keys to the Kingdom By Carolyn Tucker

What Kind of Shoes?

It was my first podiatrist appointment and I was patiently waiting in the exam room. The doctor entered and we exchanged the usual pleasantries. Then he dropped a bombshell and asked, “What kind of shoes do you wear?” That was a loaded question — I had no idea how to begin to describe all the happy shoes in my closet! I was dumbfounded, plus I knew he wouldn’t approve of 90% of my high heels, mules, sandals, flip-flops, slides, slingbacks, water shoes, knee-high boots, ankle boots, sneakers, and walking shoes. I’m a shoe lover on steroids.

So here’s another loaded question: “What kind of Christian are you?” How would you answer that if you were put on the spot by someone? Would all the color drain from your face as you changed the subject in order to get out of answering the question? Or would you sidestep by answering with the name of your church denomination? Or would you do a song-and-dance and respond, “I regularly attend church and take communion?” Hey, I could go sit in a tree all day and eat a nut but that wouldn’t make me a squirrel.

If we want to cut to the chase, an adequate answer to the proposed question would be, “A biblical one.” When Christians base our faith walk on the truth of God’s Word, that means we think and act like the Bible is true. So let’s review a few scriptures regarding what kind of Christian we should be.

Christ followers must grasp the fact that God loves us as much as He loves Jesus. Although this is nearly too much to wrap your head around, it’s still the truth. God’s love for us is unconditional and timeless. Here are the words of Jesus’ evening prayer with His disciples before His crucifixion: “I am in them and You (God) are in Me (Jesus). May they experience such perfect unity that the world will know that You sent Me and that You love them as much as You love Me“ (John 17:23 NLT). God created us to experience  love, faith, hope, peace, and abundance, so we should gratefully receive what He offers.

Believers are to desire to please God rather than ourselves. “Don’t forget to do good things for others and to share what you have with them. These are the kinds of sacrifices that please God” (Hebrews 13:16 GW). Always choose the high road over the low road, even though the low road is easier. In order to please God, we must also live by faith and trust Him every day (see Hebrews 11:6).

The following scripture is certainly not a convoluted explanation of what a Christian is: “No, the Lord has told us what is good. What He requires of us is this: to do what is just, to show constant love, and to live in humble fellowship with our God” (Micah 6:8 GNT).

A man asked Jesus to explain the most-important commandment. His answer was simple yet profound: “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself“ (Matthew 22:37-39 NLT). After all these thousands of years, His answer remains the same for Christians today.

The Key: So, what kind of Christian are you?  Hopefully the kind who practices love.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Roaring ‘20s Christmas

My mom was born in Dade County, Missouri on December 17, 1923, the thirteenth child and only girl. (It wasn’t unusual to have large families back then.) Mom shared many stories about her life and I always enjoyed hearing them. She said, “We were poor, but we didn’t know it because everybody was just like us.” As a little girl, she played with a rock and pretended it was a doll. There was plenty of food to eat, enough clothes, and a roof over her head. There was plenty of love and laughter, family and cousins galore, and that caused her to feel rich on the inside. I asked about her Christmases as a youngster and she said, “I usually got a dime and an orange.”

After Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, and after the proper amount of days, it was time for Mary and Joseph to take Him to the Temple in Jerusalem. “Then it was time for their purification offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child, so His parents took Him to Jerusalem to present Him to the Lord. So they offered the sacrifice required in the law of the Lord — ‘either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons‘“ (Luke 2:22,24 NLT). The Old Testament further clarifies what animals may be brought for this particular offering: “If a woman cannot afford to bring a lamb, she must bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons“ (Leviticus 12:8 NLT). Here we find evidence that Mary and Joseph were poor. But I suspect they felt rich on the inside.

Based on Matthew 2:16, most scholars believe Jesus was about two years old when the wise men visited Him in Bethlehem. “They [wise men] entered the house and saw the child with His mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped Him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:11 NLT).

These three gifts are an interesting study. Since these wealthy men were wise and  determined to find the Savior of the world, we can be sure their gifts were perfect for the occasion. Gold represented wealth and was a highly-valued treasure by everyone. The Ark of the Covenant was overlaid with pure gold and the mercy seat of the Tabernacle was of gold. John the Revelator tells us, “And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass (Revelation 21:21 NKJV). The gift of gold supplied the family’s financial needs and also represented Jesus’ Kingship as the Prince of Peace.

Frankincense is a fragrant resin from a tree which was quite valuable. Because of its lovely perfume and its association with worship in the temple, it would make sense for the Magi to include it as a gift to the Messiah. The gift of frankincense represented His Deity as the Son of God.

Myrrh has a medicinal quality and the Jews used it to offer pain relief to those who were suffering physically. Myrrh mixed with wine was offered to Jesus as He agonized on the cross, but He refused it. Myrrh was also used in embalming (ref. John 19:39-40). The gift of myrrh was a solemn foreshadowing of Jesus’ death and burial.

The Key: Because Jesus is our Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace, we can joyfully celebrate Christmas because we’re rich on the inside.

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. – Isaiah 53:2-5

Seven hundred years before Jesus was born, his entry into the world was predicted by Isaiah. We who celebrate Christmas, focusing on our exquisitely decorated trees, our lavish presents, enough food to feed our local community, and perhaps even our yearly trip to a church service are not exactly what Jesus had in mind when he entered this sin-filled world.

He came to be what we need to glorify Him. Perhaps that’s why the details of his birth are what really matter during this holiday season.

Christ was not born under a beautifully decorated tree near a fireplace but in a feeding trough. The first smells to enter his nostrils were not cinnamon potpourri or a freshly roasted turkey but animal manure. He came not to receive gifts but to be our gift, yet we seem to ignore that as we spend hours preparing a feast (that is devoured in 30 minutes) or go into credit card debt for gifts people probably don’t even need.

We forget Jesus’ importance.

We forget how he suffered for us.

And suffer he did. Matthew 20:28 tells us that Jesus came to serve. He did that by rescuing us from ourselves, from our sins, starting at his birth.

Jesus willingly left Heaven to come to earth, not to live in a palace, tended to by servants, but to live as we would never choose to live, to pay the penalty for our sins and offer us freedom and peace and eternity with him in Heaven.

Jesus did not show up for a celebration. He chose to suffer to be our savior.

So, on whom do we focus when we revel in the gift side of Christmas?

God loves when we serve, not just at Christmas but daily, and He provides those opportunities in some crazy, simple ways.

Yesterday, for example, Dave and I were driving home from church when we noticed an elderly man on a side street, struggling to catch his dog. The more the man limped toward the dog, the further the animal ran from him. As we passed the street, I told Dave that I thought we should turn around and see if we could help.

By that time, the old man had given up and was headed back up the road, clearly struggling to walk. His runaway pooch was at the end of the street, which is where I got out of the car and yelled, asking the man if this was his dog. It was. The closer I walked toward the animal, the more it retreated, then stopped, waiting for me to move towards it, ultimately ending up beside the man who thanked us over and over.

I said, “Merry Christmas,” and we left. Such a simple thing.

I pray that this Christmas, our celebration of what Jesus willingly did for us will become a festival of overflowing joy, not so we get caught up in all the worldly acts of craziness surrounding it but so we can pass on to others our gifts of service. Our way of honoring our King.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Tucker

Red Pants on a Flag Pole

Many years ago, a family friend erected a hefty flag pole in our yard because he knew I wanted to fly the U.S. flag. The pole has been in need of some repair work and new hardware for awhile. So one day my son Aaron loaded the pole into his truck bed so he could work on it at his house. The pole extended several feet past the tailgate, which meant a red flag was needed for safety purposes as he transported it down the highway. I walked into the kitchen where the family was having a problem-solving discussion. Aaron asked if I had a red rag to tie onto the end of the flag pole. I knew I didn’t have a red cloth or towel, so I went to the closet and cleverly found something that would work great! I enthusiastically presented the item to my son. He took one look at it and asked, “Where do you wear these?” I said, “At home in the winter.“ I smiled to myself as he drove away with my red velour leggings zip-tied to the pole and blowing in the wind.

The term, “red flag” is a metaphor for a warning sign of a problem. A red flag at the beach means danger, no swimming allowed. Some communities fly a red flag when it’s too windy and dry to burn anything outside.

Believers have internal red flags that can pop up inside us when we’re in the middle of doing life. All too often these red flags are overlooked, ignored, or disregarded. One of the wonderful and necessary works of the Holy Spirit is to help guide us.

All Christ followers have the Holy Spirit living inside them. We aren’t even able to follow Christ without the Holy Spirit’s help. He will wave a red flag telling us that we need to apologize, repent, change our mind, change our direction, re-think a bad decision, forgive others, give mercy, etc. When we offend the Holy Spirit, our conscience hurts us and we no longer have peace. “Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you?“ (1 Corinthians 3:16 NLT). When we’re in close communion with the Spirit of God who dwells inside us, we know when we’ve sinned against God or offended others. We experience an uncomfortable red flag in our soul when peace makes its exit.

Jesus told His disciples, “If you love Me, obey My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate [Comforter, Encourager, Counselor] who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it isn’t looking for Him and doesn’t recognize Him. But you know Him, because He lives with you now and later will be in you [and is in you]” (John 14:15-17 NLT). We can think of the Holy Spirit as our defense attorney because He advocates and intercedes for us 24-7.

There’s a lot of new and strange ideologies in the world today. It’s a good thing Jesus asked His Father to send us the Holy Spirit to lead us into what’s true, right, and biblical.  Without Him we might be tempted to fall for some of the crazy stuff today’s culture is  sucking out of their thumbs.

The Key: Watch out for a red flag — it could be your neighbor’s pants.

Last week, I wrote about our camping trip to the Dunes, sand hills in California that cover over 800 acres and rise 500 feet in the air.  Crazy drivers race up and down the mountains or zigzag their way through the sand canyons.  Ambulances await at the entrance for the call that they are needed, a common occurrence.

Our family gets there the week before Thanksgiving to find a level spot at the top of the camping arena.  From there, they can see hundreds of motor homes and campers scattered across the terrain.  Those who attempt to camp on higher ground frequently find that their trucks, pulling their RV’s, do not have the appropriate tires for sufficient traction.  The men in our group were called upon not a few times to tow someone out.

The first day Dave and I were there, we watched as an inexperienced driver needed help.  His dual-wheeled truck, towing a large R.V., was stuck, so Haley, one of the men in our group, pulled his truck in front of the stranded one, tied on a heavy-duty tow strap, and explained to the other driver how he needed to “gun it” when Haley raised his arm.  Three times, the man failed to obey.  He waited for the pull of the strap before he pressed on the gas instead of pushing on the gas first.  Haley’s truck now was spinning its wheels, sand spraying everywhere.

The fourth attempt, the man unattached his RV, did what he was told, and was pulled out of the sand.  Had he just listened and obeyed the first time!

Sometimes when in a rut, we, like the stranded man in this story, try to dig ourselves out instead of relying on other’s expertise.  After all, we know better, right?  Who needs GPS when common sense tells us how to get to our desired destination (says Hubby)?  Why should we listen to the doctor’s instructions to rest when we have umpteen pressing errands to run?  What’s wrong with listening to a divorce lawyer instead of a Christian counselor?

It’s no different in our spiritual life.  How many times have I, when I am in a mess, called a friend instead of calling God to help me out, even though my friend’s advice is anything but godly.  “You don’t deserve to be treated like that”; “I hope you gave her a piece of your mind”; “Don’t ever say you’re sorry.”

In 1 Kings 12, we read a tragic story of King Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, making a bad choice instead of asking God for advice.  After Solomon’s death, Rehoboam was in line to be king. His job was to unify Judah and Israel. The Israelites begged him to lighten the workload Solomon had laid on them.  After consulting the elders who had served Solomon for advice, he ignored their answer: “If today you will be a servant to these people and serve them and give them a favorable answer, they will always be your servants.”

Rehoboam instead listened to his guy-pals who said the yoke should be heavier, not lighter. The Israelites rebelled.  Instead of unifying the two countries, his actions divided them.  One of the saddest scriptures is found in 2 Chron. 12:13-14 which describes Rehoboam’s demise: “And he did evil, for he did not set his heart to seek Yahweh.”                                                        Sometimes pride gets in our way and doesn’t allow us to yield to the opinion of a more knowledgeable person.  And we suffer.  But not turning to God?  Only if we wish to dig ourselves into a deeper rut should we ever make that choice.

Keys to the Kingdom

By Carolyn Hayward Tucker

Jesus, Jackhammers, and Elvis

Just so you know, the results of my MRI were fine.  Now back to the beginning. I didn’t research what all goes on with having an MRI, but I knew there was nothing for me to do before or during the procedure. I’m certainly acquainted with colonoscopies, so I thought the MRI would be a piece of cake. As I completed the questionnaire at the hospital and read, “Are you claustrophobic?“ I checked the “NO” box. (In retrospect, I now believe that was a big fat lie.) The female technician was very cordial and she instructed me to remove my watch and a certain undergarment. No problem. Lying flat on my back, she asked if I preferred silent headphones or headphones with Spotify. She said she could play anything I wanted, so I asked to listen to Elvis. So into the tube I went. I closed my eyes knowing I’d tolerate it better without seeing my enclosed surroundings.

After I got in there, I soon realized it was hot and stuffy. Using my outside voice I said, “It’s hot in here!” She turned the fan on high speed and asked if that was better. I responded, “No, not really.” So she immediately brought me out of the tube. I knew I was in serious trouble if something didn’t drastically improve. I asked, “Are we the only two in here?” She said, “Yes.” So I candidly said, “OK, I’m taking off my socks, shoes, and jeans.“ She responded that she would cover me with a sheet. I said, “No, I don’t want a sheet.“ So back into the tube I went with my eyes closed. I’d done everything I knew to do and could tell I still needed help beyond myself. So I desperately prayed a simple short prayer, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, help me.” You know, there’s something wonderful and powerful about that Name.

The Elvis music was an excellent distraction as it began playing softly. Thankfully, I no longer felt like a smoldering hotdog suffocating in a bun, but I still kept my eyes closed. As the jackhammers began banging out their varied rhythms for about 20 minutes, I gratefully realized that Jesus had indeed answered my prayer. I had lost my pants, but not  my marbles, and that was a supernatural victory.

A few days after the procedure, I read a fitting scripture that I personalized: “Do not be afraid, for I have ransomed you. I have called you by name; you are Mine. When you go through deep waters (the tube), I will be with you” (Isaiah 43:1-2 NLT). I definitely felt His presence while the jackhammers, accompanied by Elvis, serenaded me. Jesus said, “And remember that I am always with you until the end of time” (Matthew 28:20 GW).

I didn’t need grace as I drove to the hospital, nor as I entered the building, nor as I filled out the paperwork. But I sure needed “tube grace” and I got it in that precise moment. “So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most” (Hebrews 4:16 NLT). God didn’t help me early or late, but right on time. I’ve always been fond of Isaiah 41:10 and I experienced this promise during my tube adventure: “Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” God will not fail us nor abandon us at any stress point in our lives. There is strength in the Lion of Judah and in the name of the Lord.

The Key: I wonder how many MRI tubes Jesus has climbed into for all those with claustrophobia?