A Recovering Anti-Duck
Café Menu for Thursday, December 17, 2015
Today’s Special is: Learning To Soak Up Good and Repel The Bad
Carefully prepared just for you by your friend, Noelle Dey
Main Ingredient:
A person's wisdom yields patience; it is to one's glory to overlook an offense.
Proverbs 19:11 NIV
Entrée:
No offense, but…
Those three words mean one thing. Chances are, I’m about to be offended.
My husband knows this about me. So in his savvy ways, he’s learned to pose his thoughts in the form of questions,
Did you intend for our dinner to taste like this?
I know I’m supposed to let offense roll off me, like water off a duck’s back. It’s easy in theory. But I must be an anti-duck. Taking it a step further, I realize SpongeBob and I have a lot in common.
Here’s the thing with sponges: they retain what they soak up. If I allow offense and negativity in, my whole demeanor turns sour. But the reverse is also true. Our key verse explains that when I fill up with God’s Truth, the wisdom in me yields patience. I’m able to overlook an offense and it’s to my glory!
It’s similar to Jesus’ words in Luke 6:45:
A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart…
We are in an emotionally charged season. There are high highs. And for many, there are low lows. Our to-do lists are filled. In-laws are ringing our doorbells. Overlooking offenses might not be our knee-jerk reactions.
But when we marinate in God’s word, we fill up the treasury of our good hearts. The wisdom will yield patience. It will be to God’s glory and ours as we overlook offenses and exude grace!
Take Out:
Are quiet times with God a part of your daily routine? If not, add them to your calendar as an irrevocable, recurring appointment. It’s okay to start out small. The key is carving out time to soak in God’s Truth.
Maybe you already have built-in quiet times. Are they enough to hold you through the whole day? If not, add in another five-minute refresher in the afternoon or whenever you tend to hit a slump.
Let’s fill up the treasuries of our hearts so good things flow naturally from us!
Dessert:
Dear Heavenly Father, it can be hard to overlook an offense. But Your Word tells us that we produce good things from the treasuries of good hearts. Fill us up with Your Truth and empower us with Your Spirit so we can love others and overlook offenses. We will give You all the glory and honor. In Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen!
© 2015 by Noelle Dey. All rights reserved.
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Originally published Thursday, 17 December 2015.
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