Corona Devo 311

The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain... ~Proverbs 10:11

At first glance of this verse, I received it benevolently and at face value: If we know the Lord and His Word can share it with others and it is "life-giving". Smooth and nice.

But then I chewed on this verse a little longer and something "crunched" in between my teeth. I realized that God wanted me (us) to go deeper.

On the surface, "The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain" is a fluffy, white, "holy and pure" ideal that we (as Jesus-followers) can spread over our lives and intentions like frosting.

But have you ever been chewing a bite of cake and then your teeth grind on an eggshell that fell into the batter and got baked in? Awkward! Disgusting! Embarrassing (if you are the baker). And--I would argue--a part of life. The "perfect cake" is not "real life", and God wants to use our "eggshells" to turn them into a life-giving fountain for others.

Our experiences, failures, brokenness, past-sin (and how God worked through it!) can be a life-giving fountain to someone else.

I have a friend who is making some bad choices because she is more interested in feeling accepted/included/"loved" right now than in making the (harder) godly choices that will lead her to God's true acceptance/inclusion and love. There are more than a few eggshells in her batter right now.

I have been there, have you?

I get it. The battle between our flesh and our spirit is real and so is the war waging in our minds about who we are in Christ. We are Somebody Special to Jesus. But day to day we can feel like Nothing, and so any earthly attention shown to us can hoodwink our heart.

But as I read this verse (The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain... ~Proverbs 10:11), the Lord clearly brought another friend to my mind, who had similar "eggshells in her batter" years ago. They got baked in, because sin doesn't dissolve. But God does use it to shape us, grow us, and draw us nearer to Him if we let Him. And she did. Because of her eggshells, my friend's life was changed by Jesus and she choose to be defined by Him instead of her surroundings. Although years ago this friend had some very jagged eggshells mixed into her batter-of-life, Jesus was with her, and she allowed Him to be. It changed the outcome of her life and certainly her testimony, but when we allow God to work through our messes, he changes us.

That's what Jesus does if we allow Him into the sticky mess of our batter. He takes our eggshells and uses them. We all have jagged/sinful times in our life. But it is often at those times that we draw nearest to Jesus or connect with Him in the rawest way. And then we have a story to tell about how He loved us, eggshells and all.

The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain... ~Proverbs 10:11

It clicked with me as I read this verse that my one friend's wisdom and testimony might be humbling for her to disclose, but the friend in the middle-of-the-mess might gain life by hearing it.

What about us? We all have hardship/sin/or hurt that we we have journeyed through. Have you ever considered that God would like to use our past to give someone hope for today?

The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain... ~Proverbs 10:11

"The godly" does not refer to people without sin (because there are no such "people"), instead it refers to those of us who are choosing to grow/change/learn from our sin. And if we can be vulnerable enough to share "the eggshells in our batter of life" with others, our life-experience can be a life-giving fountain whose source is Jesus Christ.

God and others are not interested in the superficial, syrupy-sweet, thick layer of happy-Jesus-frosting that we desperately try to spread smoothly across our life. What if the most powerful "ingredients" of our faith-walks are the growth and flavor added to our lives as a result of the "eggshells" that have been baked in? God has brought-us-through and used these experiences to make us who we are in Him, and sharing our story is sharing His story and these words can be a life-giving fountain to someone who needs to hear them.

Are You sure, God? It's humbling and embarrassing to talk about my sin, ugliness, temptation and "eggshells". But God has used those trials to bring triumph in my life, and if He has done the same in areas of your life, then we are called to encourage others with our story, even if and BECAUSE of the eggshells baked in.

The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain... ~Proverbs 10:11

Someone needs to hear your story today. Ask God to help you figure out who, and then share your words, because they may be life-giving. The Bible is a big book composed of story after story of people with eggshells (sin) baked into their batter. But if we allow Him, God stirs in forgiveness and reconciliation and our story can be delicious and shared with others.

Someone needs a slice of our story today. Eggshells and all.

The words of the godly are a life-giving fountain... ~Proverbs 10:11


Blessings,  

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com/

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Corona Devo 1156

Image
At work, we provide Trainings for customers, so that they can be updated and educated on all of the latest features (and how to use them) within our product.  Many companies do this--sharing "Best Practices" are a way to ensure positive outcomes on the customer and vendor sides of things. My kids often offer me "life hacks" that they have learned from watching an online video promising to "save time" and "make your life easier".  And just this week, my husband enlightened me about the "tear-away" feature built into most plastic rings holding cans/bottles of pop or Gatorade together.  When separated, the plastic rips open easily, releasing the bottle--saving wildlife that might be caught if it is discarded as trash, and saving me  frustration or angst because I no longer have to pull with all my might to get a bottle out of the plastic rings.  ( Who knew? )  Life hacks do save time and make your life easier! Who couldn't benefit from...
Read more

Corona Devo 1217

Image
The unanswered “why’s” of life, the disorder of our days, and even the unfairness of our struggles can cause us to question ourselves and also to question our God. But the order-of-Creation and the systems that God has set in place are undeniable answers that swing back and forth like God’s pendulum-reminder that He set the world in motion, and He continues to keep order, even when it seems as if we and our world are in dis- order.   Job was a man going through some heavy and hard stuff.   Maybe we are too.   Job’s trials had caused him to question the order of life, and possibly God’s dominion over it.   We can relate.   The “Why’s?” and the “Why Me’s” can stack up in our minds and hearts, but like a parent exercising loving-authority over a child, God reminds Job and us--of His power, omniscience and of His ultimate authority over everything: Creation… and us today .   Then the  Lord  answered Job from the whirlwind: (2) “Who i...
Read more

Corona Devo 991

Running low on " good things " today?  Doesn't it (sometimes) seem like/trend like/read like/tweet like/water-cooler-chat or backyard-fence-visit like/intimidate like/depress like... there are no  good things in the land? . I know. It's no secret that many have abandoned  the Law of the  Lord,  and at times, that's us .   It is evident all around us that people have  followed each other  in this sin.  When we look around...or when we live our days...we can wonder: Are there  any  good things  left in the land? There are still some good things in the land ...and no matter how bleak we feel the "forecast" for today is...there will always  be  some good things in the land, because God is in the land.   T he Bible reminds us of that today.   ~~~ The Israelites (and their king, Rehoboam ) were God's people, but like all of us at times/seasons of our lives...they wandered from Lord and His ways....
Read more