Assumptions

“Bob,” the voice on the phone says, “we have a problem…with a breaker in our electrical panel at church.  It keeps tripping.  It won’t hold.”  Never a good scenario.  My mind kicks into overdrive reviewing all the different possibilities and what may be the cause.  “It's the breaker that feeds our server and computer cabinet.  I think it might be a bad breaker,” Kent (the voice on the phone) clarifies.  Okay, good.  More information.  At least now I have an idea of what it feeds.

I’m not sure, but this may have been the problem with the recording and transmission of Greg Asimakoupoulos’ last sermon.  “Kevin was able to re-feed it with an extension cord from another outlet.  So, it isn’t an urgent issue.  You have a few days.”  This was helpful.  After coming home from vacation, we were pretty booked and I had a few things to fix around the house.

Having extra time to think about a problem is a two-edged sword.  There is time to review what happened, how to troubleshoot it and fix it.  And…there is time to review what happened, how to troubleshoot it and fix it (over and over again).  I would repeat the process of troubleshooting again and again.  It would be several days before I could get to church and look at things.  In the meantime, I had lots of time to mull over what to do.  In fact, 3:00 in the morning seems to be an optimal time, especially three nights in a row.  Then, of course, there is the obligatory dreaming with me climbing into the attic and falling through the ceiling into our new narthex.  REM sleep is so overrated!  “In their hearts humans plan their course…” Proverbs 16:9.

“I think it might be a bad breaker,” the voice on the phone had said.  Not likely, though everyone seems to say that.  Breakers are a safety device.  If they trip, it is because they are supposed to.  It means there is something wrong with whatever is connected to them.  They seldom fail.  I’ve worked in the electrical industry over 60 years, and I can count the number of failed breakers that I’ve seen, on one hand.  So, I’m thinking there must be a short circuit, and I shudder.  Short circuits are hard to troubleshoot since they only last for a split second.  Usually, the only way to find the short is turning off the breaker, tracing the circuit and then taking everything apart.  Under the best circumstances, it is tedious, awkward, frustrating and time consuming.  It takes undaunting courage, which is draining away.

I show up to church in the morning with all my tools and test equipment.  I have been mentally preparing myself for this moment for almost a week.  I am anxious, reticent, somewhat fearful of failure, and sleep deprived.  I walk into the electrical room and study the offending panel and breaker.  It stares back defiantly.  “So you think you got this, do you?” the panel challenges me.  “Well, think again sucker!”

At this point, Troubleshooting 101 kicks in.  “Challenge accepted!” I say to the electrical panel.  I am now undaunted.  I'm ready “to go where no man has gone before.” 

I check the breaker.  Indeed, it won't hold.  I carefully remove the cover from the panel, exposing the breakers and the wiring.  The wiring looks like spaghetti.  I trace the wire from the breaker to the top of the panel.  It goes into an armored cable circuit.  (Hmm.  Norm used armored cable when we first got the building.)  I disconnect the wire to the breaker.  Now there's no load on it.  I turn the breaker on.  It won't hold.  It just snaps back to the off position.  Unbelievable.  Inconceivable!  THE BREAKER IS BAD!  My assumption was completely wrong!  And what’s more, I lost a lot of sleep and peace of mind over it.

The fix is easy.  I replace the breaker, reconnect the wire, and everything is back to normal.  There must be a sermon illustration in this somewhere. For days, I carried worry and anxiety, anticipating the worst-case scenario.  And what did it get me?  Worry, anxiety and sleep deprivation.  By following scriptural counsel, I could have avoided all that.  God already knew that it was a bad circuit breaker, and I could have chosen to trust Him.  “Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”  (Matt. 6:34)  “Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”  (1 Peter 5:7)