Why won’t this come off?!
I was sitting outside trying to get the lid off of an old paint can. So far, the paint can was winning. Tools were scattered around me, each one failing to pry the lid off.
After a few more aggravating minutes, I reached for my phone and searched –
How to get a paint lid unstuck.
And of course, the solution was easy – “Run the lid under hot water.”
How can it be that simple?! I thought to myself.
Sometimes I think God looks down at me thinking,
“Stop exhausting yourself.”
This reminds me of the story of Naaman in 2 Kings 5. Naaman, a commander of the Syrian army, suffered from leprosy. When the prophet Elisha told him to wash seven times in the Jordan River, Naaman was insulted. He expected a grand, complicated cure. But when he finally humbled himself and obeyed the simple instruction, he was healed. The solution was not in Naaman’s power—it was faith in God’s promises and trustful obedience that God would do what he said.
Maybe the hardest step is surrendering our pride.
Naaman’s servants went to him and said, “My father, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, would you not have done it? How much more, then, when he tells you, ‘Wash and be cleansed’!” So he went down and dipped himself in the Jordan seven times, as the man of God had told him, and his flesh was restored and became clean like that of a young boy. 2 Kings 5:13-14 (NIV)
Naaman had to humble himself to receive healing.
What feels too simple to us may be the very thing God uses to bring breakthrough.
When I was walking through my own healing journey, I remember thinking “How can I trust anyone again?” I went as far as telling God – “You are going to have to break down all these walls that I’ve built around me if I’m going to trust again.”
In my own strength, I would’ve stayed stuck- never trusting. But God, being God, met me in my pain. One day in prayer I felt this wave of relief rush over me. It was this relief that even if I couldn’t trust those around me, I COULD put my trust in God. He would take care of me, and I don’t need to work so hard trying to trust. All I needed was to trust in my Father, and who he says he is.
It wasn’t complicated – it was simple.
Next time you are draining yourself with a “stuck lid” in life—whether it’s a relationship, a decision, or a spiritual struggle—pause and ask God for His wisdom. Instead of exhausting yourself with every tool in your own toolbox, remember that God may already have a simple, clear solution. Trust Him, obey Him, and watch how He makes your path straight.
