March 12, 2015
What’s the Real Deal?
Mary Southerland
Today’s Truth
A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of (Luke 6:45, NIV).
Friend to Friend
What is really inside will come spilling out for all to see when life puts the squeeze on us. My Mama often said, “What’s down in the well comes up in the bucket.” In other words, a crisis will usually reveal what is really inside our hearts.
It is easy to do and say the right things when life is calm and everything is going right, but what we say and do when chaos hits and the pressure is on tends to paint a more accurate picture of who we really are. But what is the real deal? Who are we really?
It is kind of like what I call sponge theology.
Suppose you have five sponges lying on your kitchen counter. Each member of your family has been using a sponge to clean a different area of your home, but the sponges all look the same. You are curious about what was cleaned, but you can’t tell just by looking at the sponges since they all look the same.
So what do you do? You squeeze each sponge to see what happens.
When you squeeze the first sponge, brown cola comes pouring out. Someone must have cleaned the spilled drink in the kitchen with that sponge.
Upon squeezing the second sponge, you see blue tub and tile cleaner oozing out of the sponge. Hmmm … someone must have used that particular sponge to clean the bathroom.
The third sponge is truly disgusting. When you squeeze it, dirty motor oil pours out. You determine that your husband probably used that sponge to clean the garage.
The fourth sponge produces a puff of baby powder when it is squeezed. The baby’s nursery was obviously cleaned with that sponge.
Finally, the last sponge is dripping with floor wax, which tells you someone used that particular sponge to clean the recently waxed hall floor.
As you lay the last sponge down, you look again at their similarity. They all look pretty much the same - until they are squeezed.
We are a lot like sponges when it comes to our faith in God. We look and act as if God is the Lord of our lives. We do and say all the right things in front of all the right people in an effort to prove we are right with God. But what is really inside? What do our hearts really look like?
When a crisis comes, and the pressures of life squeeze us mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, what comes out?
Do we respond to that difficult person in anger, or do our actions portray hearts filled with God’s patience and love?
Does revenge spill out in ugly words to that person who has hurt us more times than we can count, or do we take a breath and remember how much God loves them and that hurt people really do tend to hurt people?
Does the guilt of unresolved sin cause us to lash out in anger, or do we keep short books on our sin in order to keep the enemy from forming a toehold for anger in our own lives?
Just like the sponge, we can only squeeze out what is put in. Fill your heart with the things of God.
Stay in the Word each day. Read it … memorize it … share it. Saturate your life with His truths. Spend time with faith builders who will encourage you to be more like God and continually point you toward Him when you really want to walk in the opposite direction. Seek God and His plan for your life. Be willing to abandon your plan for His. And continually pray about everything – no matter how small the matter may be. If it is important to you, it is important to Him.
Then … when life puts the squeeze on you … and it will, the very nature of God will come pouring out.
Let’s Pray
Father, I want my faith to be more than just talk. I want it to be real and authentic, flowing from a heart set on You. Forgive me when I play religious games and pretend to be someone I am not. I am a sinner saved by Your grace. Teach me how to walk in that grace so that when the hard times come and the pressure is on, You come pouring out of my life.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
Think back to the last time you were surprised by your reaction to a situation or a person. What does that tell you about the condition of your heart? Set aside time to spend alone with God. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any sin that needs to be faced and confessed. Give Him permission to purify your heart so that no matter what life throws at you, God will be honored by how you respond.
More from the Girlfriends
As a pastor’s wife, I have talked with so many women who feel as if they were worthless, a freakish accident. Listen, girlfriend, you were planned and wanted by God. God is crazy about you! He wants an intimate relationship with you. I pray you will see yourself in the eyes of God, a chosen and loved child in whom He delights!
Need help? Check out Mary’s MP3 download, Come as You Are to discover how to see yourself through the eyes of God.
Check out the FREE MP3s on Mary’s website.And be sure to connect with Mary through email or on Facebook.
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Girlfriends in God
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Huntersville, NC 28070
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Originally published Thursday, 12 March 2015.
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