Laundry | Bible Study

Laundry is the one chore that I actually enjoy. It is very satisfying and in 2020 we have it pretty easy compared to when my mom and my grandma had to do laundry on a wringer washer or by hand using a washboard. I remember watching my grandmother do that and it was WORK! Now, all I have to do is drop in a detergent pod, push the start button and walk away! The machine does all the work for me. Even though it is a simple process, sometimes life happens and I get behind on the laundry and when I am facing Mt. Washmore, I get discouraged and struggle with feeling guilty for not doing it sooner and feeling stuck with where to get started!

Before we moved from Indiana to Alabama, we had a lot of laundry to wash. We were facing a tight deadline to get things packed and ready to go. The kids had too many clothes and we wanted to wash everything before we left. The task was too overwhelming to do with our washer and dryer at home, so we went to a small, neighboring town to their laundromat. Their washing machines are larger than my washing machine and so we were able to get more washed. We started the machines and sat down to wait.The room was large and hot. Washing machines and dryers were left unattended and the repetitive buzz of the machines made me drowsy.  I watched the water rise, clothes tossed around, and I began to think how life is a lot like washing laundry.

Here are five ways I found laundry to be symbolic of life:

1. You are not in it alone.

It would seem wasteful of time and resources to wash only one garment in a washing machine. Often we wait until we have gathered several garments together to make up a load and that gets tossed inside the machine. When we get overwhelmed in life, we sometimes think that we are by ourselves, no one else feels this pain, no one else has this hardship, and no one else is going through the difficulties we are. During this pandemic when social distancing and safer-at-home practices are in place it can feel like we are isolated and alone but the truth is we are not. We truly are all in this together.

Elijah was a powerful man of God; a prophet who showed many mighty signs and wonders with God's power inside him. He made Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, mad and Jezebel sent word to him that she would kill him the next day. He knew she would keep her promise because she had killed before. He was so scared he ran into the wilderness and traveled a day's journey to get away from her. He thought this was the way it would all end. Exhausted, he lay down under a juniper tree where an angel of God fed him and gave him some water. The angel encouraged Elijah to take strength from the food and drink. He lasted 40 days and 40 nights on that meal! At just the right moment, God will send provision for us and it will get us through the tough times.

Elijah finds a cave and moved in. The Word of the LORD came to him and asked him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" If God was to look at us right now, would He ask us the same thing? Are we thinking it's over, this is the end, as we hide out in our own caves? Would God ask us, "What are you doing here?"

Do you feel disconnected from the world? Maybe you find solitude to be a blessing. There is no pressure to do anything. There are no deadlines, no assignments, no tasks hanging over your head. Is God asking you what you are doing there? Remember we always have the assignment God gave us to reach others and win souls. What are we doing where we are?

Elijah tells God in 1 Kings 19:10, "I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." He feels like he's the only one left that will serve God, the only one left who is doing the right thing, the only one left that is trusting God. He looks around and sees the evil. He listens to the threat of the enemy that wants to take his life. His circumstances show him that he is isolated, alone, and outnumbered, but God sees it differently.

1 KINGS 19:18 Yet I have left Me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.

God reminds Elijah that He has a remnant of people who still serve Him, who won't compromise, and who won't worship another god. God is telling us the same thing today. He has a people who love Him, serve Him, worship Him in Spirit and in Truth and we are not alone.

2. God is in control.

Sometimes life feels like it's out of our control. You spin one direction and it takes a little bit for everyone to get on the same page and things are going pretty good and then out of nowhere someone changes the rules and you spin the other way. Like the clothes that get tossed like a salad, you feel things are changing faster than you can keep up. Suddenly you feel you are on a carnival ride at the mercy of the operator. It is scary and you might start to feel helpless and hopeless. Don't lose heart, God is right there with you.

David was a man after God's own heart. He wrote a Psalm to God when he felt overwhelmed and reading it comforted me many times. David is a king when he writes this and I am sure as the ruler of many provinces he had his hands full. He knew where to go when he felt like the clothes on the spin cycle and we can go to the same place.

PSALMS 61:1-3 (1)Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. (2)From the end of the earth will I cry unto Thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. (3)For Thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.

We can run to the Rock that is higher than us, too. That Rock is Jesus and He will sustain us. He will help us. He will lead us and guide us. He will tell us what to do and Holy Spirit will comfort us.

3. God is with you in the middle of the mess.

Lately I feel the large task of moving back to Indiana while recovering from Covid and having little strength is more than I can bear. I know God is with me and He is for me and I know He always makes a way where there seems to be none. You may be facing a situation that seems bigger than you or your resources but do not give up! God is with you. He will not let you drown. He will go with you!

ISAIAH 43:1-2 (1)But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and He that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art Mine. (2)When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.

What an incredible promise! If you keep reading the LORD our God, the Holy One of Israel, our Savior, says we are precious in His sight. He goes on to say He loves us. He tells us not to fear for He is with us, even everyone that is called by His name, for He created us for His glory. Let's look away from our circumstances (and yes, I know that is hard!), and turn our eyes to the Savior. He is telling us He loves us and He is with us. Regardless of the hard or difficult or painful situation we are in, He promises to be with us. God said we will come through victorious and free from harm! Do we trust Him that much?

4. There is purpose in the pain.

It does not seem like much when we drop a detergent pod, or sprinkle washing powder, over the clothes. The water activates something in the soap and it begins to make suds. If we are careful it will not spill out of the machine and onto the floor. Even having the correct amount of soap, it can get really sudsy in the water and the bubbles start to take over. We are happy to see that in the washing machine, but we are not as comfortable in the natural. We want to be cleansed, but sometimes the purification process is no joke! The spiritual soap gets rid of spots and stains on our spiritual garments. We have to allow the process to purify us so we can be clean.

PSALMS 51:2 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.

PSALMS 51:7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

When we face hardships in life, God can use those circumstances to purify us. Often the rough times can be the stain remover we need on our souls. The times of strain and struggle are like the scrubbing of the clothes on the washboard. It may not be pleasant at the time but the results are wonderful!

HEBREWS 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

Even though it is not fun in the moment to get corrected by the LORD, it is profitable because we get the peaceable fruit of righteousness. There is a purpose for the pain. We must look to God and ask Him to help us see the point in the problems we face. What lessons does He want us to learn? How can we be cleansed through the turmoil? He will show you!

5. You are being planted, not buried.

We can carefully place the clothes in the dryer and gently place a dryer sheet on top, but once we hit the start button everything inside is tumbling about. Along life's journey it gets bumpy and clumsy-feeling at times. Sometimes we start out with a neat plan for our lives and we are on top and before we know it, circumstances start shoving us and moving us and we can find ourselves buries beneath the weight of all that we thought we had conquered. Maybe we have some time to catch our breath and get our life together and the process begins again. A friend of mine recently said to me she was looking forward to when the trials and tests would be over. I gently encouraged her to keep her faith strong because as long as we live we will endure these hard times. It helps to grow our faith and strengthen us as Christians.

2 Timothy 2:3 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 4:12-14 (12)Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you; (13)But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy. (14)If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part He is evil spoken of, but on your part He is glorified.

The hard times come and the hard times go. It might feel like you are being buried beneath the weight of it all, but you are not. You are being planted. Let the Word of God take root in your heart. He is planting you right where He wants you to be. He may uproot you sometimes but it is always to place you in a fertile place where you can grow, bloom, and thrive. He may uproot you many times in your life and it can cause you to wonder why it has to be like this, but God is developing character inside you, giving you opportunities and experiences you could never have if you stay in the stagnant soil He wants you to leave behind. Trust the Master Gardener.

Ephesians 3:14-19 (14)For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, (15)Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, (16)That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man; (17)That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, (18)May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; (19)And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

Friends, regardless of what we are facing, remember we are not alone, God is in control, He is with us, and there is purpose in the pain. You may feel like you're going under and being buried, but you are not. You are being strategically planted in the fertile soil you need to grow and thrive in order to bloom into the man or woman of God He created you to be. I hope something I have shared today has given you strength for your journey and light for your way. God bless you!

~Bridgett Owens