What’s Your Hinge?

Hinges have a purpose. Yet, we often take them for granted. They are necessary, yes, for connecting two portions of life together. To become unhinged, well, it makes us thinking of someone with mental defects, or a few bales short of a full loft. So. I ask myself this question… What’s your hinge?

Think with me. Hinges last indefinitely as long as everything is well cared for. Using proper hinge sizes is necessary to not run the connection points. Even squeaky hinges…every time the door swings this way or that the hinge squeaks to let us know it’s dry and needs some lubrication, or one side may be sagging and the strain is getting difficult to bear.

Hinges are only as good as the foundation they are connected to!

Regardless, much of what we connect to in life revolves around a hinge.

Name Your Hinges

Something said earlier made me think about all the hinges I have in life. Family, Friends, Spiritual, Skills, Career, Relaxation, Future Growth, etc. Each section of life requires a new and different hinge. Every time I add a new skill I find that the hinge must be carefully selected for present and future needs.

A hinge can be anything we need it to be. A strap of leather. Engineered metal parts assembled for the purpose of connecting the two entities together. It can even be a third party individual that connects us to someone we desperately need. Remember that adage: It’s not what you know that counts… It’s who you know!

Have you ever been the go-between for your friend and that pretty young girl on the swingset? You know…carrying notes and messages back and forth to help them express their love and admiration for each other?

You were the hinge!

Hinges can ease the connection open and close, and can even enhance or prevent a solid connection between the parties! They may last longer than the two parts need to be connected and will often be removed when a failure causes a replacement to the anchor points.

Hinges take a lot of abuse as we abuse the connection between, say, a door and a wall. Slamming the door to take out our frustration causes that hinge to weaken ever so slightly. Eventually, it will fail.

Connect a hinge to a shattered door post and a crumbling door, and eventually, everything will collapse because of poor planning.

Hinges can hold things in place until a lock is engaged and help prevent disaster!

Regardless of all the descriptors, there is something we each have to power to control. What is is? The use of a hinge.

Remove a hinge and you disconnect yourself from the world around you. There’s a gap between you and something your previous connection. Perhaps it’s a friendship or family member. It could even be a past career, bad habit, a desire, even your spiritual connection.

Here’s My Thought

We have hinges that connect many facets of our life, and some are valuable to keep active and others, well, let’s just say that sometimes we must allow them to not be effective.

Could I use Prayer as my Hinge to God? Sure. He waits for us to call out to him, but when we fail to pray then that hinge falls into disrepair and eventually my connection to God is fragile and all it takes is a single moment of doubt to shatter the connection.

Could my Faith, or lack thereof, be a part of the reason I am no longer spiritual? Sure. Prayer is my language of faith, and my actions describe the parameters of my faith. Even when we know it only takes faith the size of a grain of mustard seed (Matthew 17:20) everyone can tell the extent of my faith!

Jesus describes himself as the True Vine and the Father as the Husbandman. We are the branches. If we are not bearing fruit, then he takes us away. If our hinged connection to the Vine fails, then we are removed. Go read John 15:1-17 in light of my logic.

Let me extract a single verse as the hinge to the words of Jesus and show you what I’m talking about.

If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. (John 15:7 NKJV)

Jesus describes our hinge as the abiding desire we have to be connected to him, and his words, so that prayer produces results. Get it? Our connection produces results. We are not just hanging around to be in good company! We are producing!

Here’s A Key

Maybe this is my key thought this morning.

I may claim one thing but if I’m not producing results how can I be victorious in the effort?

For example, I may say I’m a Christian, but unless I’m abiding in Him, and His words abide in me, where are my fruits? Results? Victory? Being a Christian does not guarantee my prayers will produce results, but if I pray according to his words within me, then I accept the results. Even if the results are not what I think they should be!

So. How strong is your hinge? Is it squeaky? Rusty? Ready to fail? If so, my word to you this morning is to get this hinge repaired! The oil of the Spirit will help stop the squeak, but its your faithfulness that will bring about the results you are looking for!