A mouth full of dirt

When Jeremiah laments God's anger against him, he uses the interesting picture of being made to eat gravel. He writes:

6 "He has broken my teeth with gravel;
    he has trampled me in the dust.
17 I have been deprived of peace;
    I have forgotten what prosperity is." - Lamentations 3:16-17

This past week I had a hard fall while out trail-running and got to experience eating 'gravel' as a first-hand experience. Let me be clear - it is not highly recommended. When I got up and wiped the dust off my body, I was genuinely concerned that I had broken some teeth, but thankfully they were all intact. It was just my face that looks like I have been in a barfight :)

Thought: I am grateful that Jesus gives us a more graceful picture of God. I don't want to believe in a Saviour who seeks to trample me in the dust and shove my teeth in the gravel. I can understand Jeremiah's feeling of abandonment, but I trust that we have not been forgotten by Christ.

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Set a watch on my tongue

"Set a watch upon our tongue O Lord, that we may never speak the cruel word, which is untrue; or being true is not the whole truth; or being wholly true, is merciless; for the love of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen." - William Barclay

We all know the hurt of harsh words spoken by others, especially when there is little understanding of the 'whole' story. Just as we are acutely aware of this pain, so may we then ask God to set a watch on our words, so that we don't inflict pain on others. 

James 1:26 - If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.

Living in grace

D3LM3

Choosing to be hurt

Most of us try to avoid getting hurt. Being hurt is not pleasant and it leaves all kinds of physical and emotional scars. On the topic of hurt, Philip Yancey wrote:

"Whatever else we may say about it, the atonement fulfils the Jewish principle that only one who has been hurt can forgive. At Calvary, God chose to hurt."

I find those words deeply moving and they remind us that God chose to HURT for our brokenness. When Jesus asked his Father to forgive us, it was from his place of incredible pain.

Luke 6:28 - Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you.

 

Living in Grace

D3LM3

Angry with someone

Are you angry with someone at the moment? Is your anger justified? If you answered 'yes' to these 2 questions, then let me ask you are 3rd question:

"What have you done with your anger?"

Paul gives us some great advice on what to do with the anger we may be experiencing.‘In your anger do not sin’: do not let the sun go down while you are still angry." - Ephesians 4:26

Anger is a natural emotion, but we are urged to be careful with what we do with our anger. Let's not allow our anger to hurt others or to get revenge. And where possible, let's say sorry, if we have allowed our anger to hurt someone we love.

Living in Grace
D3LM3