Corona Devo 620

I can recall a fairytale from childhood with a funny name and an unlikely story: Rumpelstiltskin.  A girl finds herself locked up in the king's castle because he is under the impression that she can spin straw into gold (which she cannot).  He leaves her in her cell overnight with piles of straw and if there is no gold "spun" in the morning, he will kill her.  

Spin straw into gold?

Who could do that?  

It's a fairy tale, so she gets some help from a little man who magically appears, named Rumpelstiltskin.  There is bartering and difficult promises are made, but Rumpelstiltskin makes it possible for her to spin straw into gold.   

In a mood of gratitude to our Heavenly Father, I drew the parallel (and praised Him) that He spins our straw into gold.  

The world teaches us to "make our own mark" and we spend much time, effort and money making gallant efforts to do just that.  But the truth is (regardless of the front we put-on or the image we portray)---we are straw.  

Without Jesus we are common.  We are broken and sometimes shattered, we are dysfunctional and products of dysfunction because sin is real.  We are focused on self and taught to promote only self.  We are hurt people that hurt other people.  We have sin in our life and we can't move from our "common" state to "cleansed" on our own.  We are straw, and we would be destined for ordinary, except that Jesus spins our straw into extraordinary gold.  

For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.  ~Romans 6:23 

If we choose to accept that gift, God begins to spin His gold into our lives.

The love and acceptance that we once sold our souls and self-worth for is found in a Father who loves us for us because He created us.  We may come limping to Him, but He enfolds us, He redefines us, He gives us rebirth into a deeper level of love and acceptance than the world ever provided us.  (I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself.  ~Jeremiah 31:3).  He sets our once-bound feet to dancing (Psalm 30:11) and He spins our straw past into a golden today with Him.

God plants His seed, His fire, His courage into us.  Young or old, we can "catch" fire for Him and because of Him, and make purposeful efforts to fan His Name and glory into flame.  Not for ourselves or for our recognition but for His glory.  He spins our straw efforts into gold for His glory.  (Not to us, Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness.  ~Psalm 115:1).

The Lord takes our shards and rubble and reminds us that even in our imperfect and "straw" state-of-being, our roots are in Him.  He created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.  (Genesis 1:27).  We are of Him and it is in our nature to be like Him.  (Listen to me, you who pursue righteousness, you that seek the Lord. Consider the rock from which you were cut, the quarry from which you were mined.  ~Isaiah 51:1).  He is our rock, we are patterned after Him, and He spins our straw into gold.

Not to be self-deprecating, but we are worthless on our own and in our own efforts.  Have you noticed?  We are straw.  Are we tired of trying to spin our own straw into gold?  It has never worked, and it won't.  We are all infected and impure with sin.  When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags.  Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind.  ~Isaiah 64:6.  

But God spins our straw into gold, and not-at-all because we have sought Him about doing so.  (This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.  ~I John 4:10).  

And when we receive Him, we become a son or daughter of the King (Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God ~John 1:12). 

The hands that formed the universe reach out to touch us and reform our universe.  

Spin straw into gold?

Who could do that? 

The Lord Almighty: He spins our straw into gold, and that's no fairytale.


Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com

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