More than a Quick Fix (Friday Devotional)

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

- 2 Timothy 1:7

A few weeks ago, Lindsey and I were rudely awakened by a loud, shrill chirp outside our bedroom door. Rubbing our eyes groggily, we were still trying to figure out where the sound was coming from when we heard it again, just as piercing as before. It was the smoke detector, letting us know—at 3 AM—that it needed batteries…which we didn’t have.

I grabbed a stool and reached up to examine it, but without my contact lenses in, it was hard to tell what I was supposed to do. I pulled the battery out, but the chirping continued every 10 seconds ago. I could see wiring going into the ceiling, but was hesitant to disconnect anything. Unsure what to do and getting more frustrated by the second, I desperately searched for some button to press, some switch to flip. The smoke detector just kept chirping every 10 seconds at a volume and pitch that made me long for nails on a chalkboard.

Finally, Lindsey decided she’d had enough. Practically pushing me off the stool, she reached up and did what I’d been unwilling to do—yanked the smoke detector straight out of the ceiling, disconnecting the wire and, yes, stopping the chirping. The problem wasn’t really solved—the smoke detector still needed batteries—but with one quick, violent gesture she’d found a quick fix for the meantime.

In life, we long for those kinds of solutions—quick, easy remedies that will wipe away our problems, even if just for a moment, even if we have to do something we know we shouldn’t. We know these sorts of quick fixes aren’t real solutions, we know they’re too ugly and makeshift to really do the job. But when you’re at a loss, when the problem seems too complicated and overwhelming to handle the right way, you’ll settle for anything. That’s how sin creeps into your heart—it tells you that your problems are too big to handle God’s way, that you need to take matters into your own hands, that that the ends justify the means.

In the face of such temptation, Scripture reminds us that God has shown us another way. It is insecurity that pushes us toward quick fixes, it is fear that makes us shove the better angels of our natures to the side in pursuit of some solution, any solution. But as 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us, the spirit God gives us is not one of fear, but of power and love and a sound mind.

Fear points you in the opposite direction that God does. Fear compels you to isolate those who are different from you, but God calls you to embrace them as neighbors. Fear prompts you to lash out at those who hurt you, but God says to seek forgiveness and reconciliation. Fear tells you that you are on your own, but God tells you that He is with you.

God’s way is harder than fear’s, there’s no doubt about that. It takes more effort, more discipline, and courage to love than it does to fear. But when you follow Him instead of retreating into yourself, you find more than a patch for your problems, you find true mending. In God’s way you won’t find a quick fix—by choosing love instead of fear you’ll find an actual solution.