Weekly Words

Sealed for Your Protection

Last night, I pulled out a new roll of Chap Stick and began to struggle trying to open the seal. Now, I am a second generation Chap Stick user and I remember a day when there was no seal. I can remember as a boy my father used the black, flavorless, and funny smelling Chap Stick. Like all sons, I looked up to my “daddy”, and wanted some Chap Stick of my own. However, I found that cherry better suited my taste. Back then, life was simpler and you could just buy a nice role of Chap Stick and open it without any interference with a seal. So there I was picking at the seal while seeming to make no headway and getting more and more frustrated. Finally, I decided to read the top to see if there was any help to be found. To my amazement, the top offered a brief explanation in all capital letters that read – “SEALED FOR YOUR PROTECTION.”

Needless to say, my sermonic antennae went up and my theological telescope took focus. Chap Stick’s reason for sealing the top was not to frustrate me, but rather to keep out harmful pollutants and contaminants. They want to assure that the roll that I buy is secured solely for my use. So many times it seems that we struggle to grasp some opportunity, procure some job, obtain some relationship, or just move to some new dimension only to find that the object of our affection seams sealed. Yet, I believe that there are times that God seals things off, not to prevent us from our blessing, but to protect us from pollutants and contaminants that might harm us. There are some people, prospects, ideas, ventures, businesses, and opportunities that God has sealed off to secure it solely for your use.

Inspired and illumined, I continued reading my cap and was pleased to see that Chap Stick not only gave me an explanation of why it was sealed, but it went further to provide education on how to break the seal. It simply said, “Twist Cap to Break Seal.” (Somebody already knows where I am going and should just meet me there!) The makers of my Chap Stick predicted and perceived my dilemma and left me some instructions on how to break the seal. When I stopped trying to figure things out on my own and consulted the makers, I learned how to get what I wanted. I want to encourage those of you who feel like your blessing is sealed, to consult the Maker. God uses Scripture, prayer, preaching, teaching, and a host of other means to give us instructions on how to break the seals of our blessings. It is our job to open our spiritual eyes and ears and be attentive to the voice and instructions of God. So, the next time you find yourself frustrated by your inability to breakthrough to a blessing that you know is yours, please remember that it may be “Sealed for Your Protection.”

Humbly in Christ’s Love,
Pastor B.A. Jackson