During our recent family devotions, we've been reading and talking about good fruit vs. bad fruit. This is always a convicting topic where I am concerned, as I am immediately confronted with how much more I need to walk in the Spirit. And so my prayers of late have been accordingly.
And so, naturally, my behavior of late seems particularly fleshly. (Or maybe it's always this bad and I'm just more aware.)
The truth is that on days like yesterday and today, I do deal with a significant lack of sleep, disobedient children, frayed nerves, long to-do lists that aren't getting done, and the like.
The more important truth is that He promises to be strong in my weakness and to complete the work He's begun in me.
If I were to list the moments simply from the last 12 hours in which I lost it, you'd be amazed appalled. Granted, I had children who aren't supposed to be on bunk beds jumping on them, resulting in one very scratched up little girl and a broken snare drum. It's true that one son stuck his tongue out at me more times than I care to recall. And, yes, my feet ached when I stuffed them into my shoes for this evening's exercise, their swollen members somehow very much representing the way all of me feels by this time of night nowadays.
But nothing terribly wrong happened. Nothing surprising happened. Nothing worth undoing me happened.
I just got a little "squeezed" and a whole lot of me came out.
Which means I need to spend a whole lot of time with Him. My mind is desperate for transformation and my heart so requiring Truth.
And He's OK with that. He already knows that. He is wanting to impart grace and strength.
So why do I so rarely ask for help?
"I just got a little "squeezed" and a whole lot of me came out."
ReplyDeleteHave you ever canned tomatoes? (Dont laugh too hard if you havent!) I just finished canning about 10 quarts so for some reason, this analogy totally makes sense to me and combined with your post here, really hit me where I needed it...
Tomatoes in general have tough skins/flesh. If you take one that is just ripe, you have to squeeze it quite hard to get it to break and "mush". To can them, you must first remove the skins. Once they have been soaked in boiling water for a minute, a simple squeeze releases an abundance of juice and... fruit.
Doesnt that sound like our lives? Before we endure "boiling" times, we can be pretty tough and it takes a lot for us to release the wonderful fruit that is within. After we have endured the boiling times and our hearts skin is softened to His will, the fruit is revealed with little effort.
(Hopefully that makes at least a little sense! I may just have tomatoes on the brain right now!!!)
Why do we ALL so rarely ask for help? It's the perennial question, I guess. Human nature at it's most "human" always hesitates to ask for help. Self-sufficiency is one of our most indigent faults.
ReplyDeleteGood word! Yea-I know what you mean about the table and guests! We used to have to pull out the card table and dress it up nice with a table cloth! (lol!) I love having people over too but am always wondering where in the world we will fit every one! So, I've been wishing for more than a year and finally it's an early anniversay surprise! Looks like we'll both be entertaining guests this fall. Especially you with that new little one on the way!
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