Watch for the Low Hanging Branches

“Watch for the Low Hanging Branches.” Dr. Allison Andrews

2 Samuel 18:9 : “Absalom was riding on his mule, and the mule went under the thick branches of a great oak. His head caught fast in the oak, and he was left hanging between heaven and earth while the mule that was under him went on!”

Poor Absalom was fighting the army of the charismatic David, who would be king. Absalom would have emerged untouched in that battle, and could have built a future alliance with David, if not for the low hanging branch. That one, unexpected “snag” changed the course of his life and led him to death.

Many of us have literally dealt with low-hanging branches. My grandfather’s horses, for instance, would immediately walk under a low-hanging branch to attempt to swipe me off when I rode them. It was always so alarmingly unexpected!

Many of us have literally stopped reading the news. I don't think newspapers are going out of business for the simple fact that the internet is swallowing publications. The news itself is painful in its nature and reminds us of our fragility. Years ago we focused on, with its erupting Ebola cases, and today we are learning that the flu will be the greatest threat this year. Disease, war, poverty, and violence are facts in this world we feel powerless to address. And so we stop fixating on the big monsters in the closet and tell ourselves they will never come out at night to threaten us in our particular homes. In actual fact, challenges and issues in the world will always be lurking. Jesus said about the difficulty of life, "the poor you will always have wit you." He was stating the fact of what it means to be vulnerable and human, not a lack of caring. The point is that the daunting catastrophic challenges are NOT our low hanging branch. We can worry about them, but they are just a part of life, not an excuse. The world is not our enemy in following our faith, and the only way we can be removed from our posts as Christians is if we stop paying attention God’s leading and let the smaller snags, such as our unhealthy habits and distractions, undo us.

Yes, we remain alert about world events, but not panicked. Let us all pay attention to the road and the obstacles specific to our Christian path, and let God lead us around the snags!