I'm empty. I need to be filled. I can't pour into others unless I'm filled.
We see and hear these statements. There's truth in them. We need to be filled sometimes. But, we are told we can't give unless we are filled to capacity and overflowing. I'm reminded of the widow with only a few drops of oil left to her name, facing possible starvation for herself and son (2 kings 4). Elisha commanded her to borrow jars from neighbors and pour her oil into them. That little oil of hers filled many, many jars. We can pour out from little, if we rely on God.
Sometimes it's not a filling up we, or others need. People are full. Full of work, chores, kids, sports, appointments. Full of bad news, anxiety inducing politics. Full of hurt. Full of things the world has offered them, to fill any hole they have.
Maybe, it's not so much about filling others up. Maybe that's God's job. Maybe it's about being a light. A beacon, a lighthouse. Maybe it's about shining, on them, lighting the way, giving warmth. A farmer doesn't crack open the seed and pull put the roots. He just plants it, makes sure it has light and water. Lighting the way, guiding away from danger, displacing darkness. Sometimes people don't need a drenching, but illuminating.
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
Tuesday, October 10, 2017
Treasures in jars of clay
I have always loved writing and blogging was a next step, which I did regularly until having 3 kids, one a new baby put that away for awhile.
Reading the Bible and journaling has become an important part of my daily routine. Somethings are very personal, but some seem like they need to be shared.
Having an emotionally "full" weekend, come Monday morning I was feeling pretty drained. I had been reading through the Old Testament, from Genesis and had just started Exodus when my ladies' Bible study began that book, delving into the life of Moses. I had put that to the side so I could read it fresh each week with the group, and had been bouncing around recently to figure out what I wanted to read next, regularly.
2 Corinthians 4 popped in my head, funny how God does that huh? I couldn't remember exactly what it was about, so I turned there, and of course it was perfect for how I was feeling.
"Since we have God's mercy, we don't lose heart. We reject shameful deeds and deception. We don't distort the word of God but tell the truth..."....God said 'let there be light in the darkness' and has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God through Jesus. We have this treasure in jars of clay, which shows this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but crushed, perplexed but not despaired, persecuted but not abandon, sruck down but not destroyed. ...Through our suffering we share in the death of Jesus so the life of jesus may be seen in us. ...This is why we never give up, though we are outwardly wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed daily. Our present trials are small and won't last long, but they produce eternal glory that far outweighs what we currently experience. So we don't look at troubles we now see, but fix our gaze on the unseen. What we see will soon be gone but the unseen lasts forever." (some parts left out for personal relevance)
Three major points stood out to me in this passage and each were equally important and relevant for me.
I. Verses 1-7 speak about God's mercy, which has given us new life. We are to denounce secret, shameful, wicked ways. We are not to distort God's word, not to add or subtract to it, as this will confuse others and lead them astray. The light God has given us we are to shine, which is Jesus and the word.
Verse 7 especially stood out- this treasure in jars of clay. What is the treasure, what is the clay, what do they signify? First, if we simplify, treasure usually isn't kept in regular old clay vessels that you would use to carry the day's water, or your olive oil, or flour in. It would be kept in something more "fancy" and something more capable of being locked and kept safe. Second, the treasure is God's mercy, grace, and salvation. He's given it to us. He's put in in us. We are the jars of clay. We might be regular looking on the outside, we might just be the flour tin or the water carrier, but inside is something great and glorious. He puts his treasure in us! Though we might not feel or look special or "worthy", he uses us and chooses us to hold his treasure, reflect his light, do his work. We are His.
II. Verses 8-15: We might be under attack, facing trials, confused about where we're going or what to do, BUT we are NOT destroyed, in despair, and never abandoned. We have hope, so we cannot and should not despair despite our situation. Even if this life "destroys" us, we have that eternal life in Jesus. But, above all, we are not ABANDONED. He is there, will be there, holds us up, lets us rest in him. Tying in with this was Sunday's sermon where I wrote down and underlined and circled several times: "God's silence is not indifference, God's silence is not negligence". There are situations in my life that I feel he is silent on, or that haven't changed, or the mountain hasn't moved. But, I know He hears me. I know He has a plan. It doesn't mean He's ignoring me or He doesn't care, it means I just don't know His plan...yet.
III. Which leads to the third point in Verse 16 to end: Don't lose heart! He hears, sees, knows us and isn't abandoning us, so don't lose heart! Outwardly, in our flesh, we might be failing, we might be going nowhere, etc. But, inwardly, our spirits, are being renewed daily. He's refining us, rebuilding us. Temporary trials feel huge, but when we compare them to the glory we will have in our eternal life with God in heaven, it will be worth it, it will seem small in comparison. So, we need to fix our eyes on God, on the unseen, on the eternal reward.
When it's hard, when I'm feeling persecuted or even just misunderstood, or failing in my parenting, I know He sees me, hears me, knows my struggles. He hasn't abandon me, He has a plan, he's working all things for my good. I am in a season of refining, and as pointed out twice in this passage: Don't lose hear! He uses and loves the ordinary, even in our day to day boring tasks. Don't lose heart! I might be chipped, cracked, plain old gray clay vessel, but I am His and he has placed His treasure in me.
Reading the Bible and journaling has become an important part of my daily routine. Somethings are very personal, but some seem like they need to be shared.
Having an emotionally "full" weekend, come Monday morning I was feeling pretty drained. I had been reading through the Old Testament, from Genesis and had just started Exodus when my ladies' Bible study began that book, delving into the life of Moses. I had put that to the side so I could read it fresh each week with the group, and had been bouncing around recently to figure out what I wanted to read next, regularly.
2 Corinthians 4 popped in my head, funny how God does that huh? I couldn't remember exactly what it was about, so I turned there, and of course it was perfect for how I was feeling.
"Since we have God's mercy, we don't lose heart. We reject shameful deeds and deception. We don't distort the word of God but tell the truth..."....God said 'let there be light in the darkness' and has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God through Jesus. We have this treasure in jars of clay, which shows this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but crushed, perplexed but not despaired, persecuted but not abandon, sruck down but not destroyed. ...Through our suffering we share in the death of Jesus so the life of jesus may be seen in us. ...This is why we never give up, though we are outwardly wasting away, inwardly we are being renewed daily. Our present trials are small and won't last long, but they produce eternal glory that far outweighs what we currently experience. So we don't look at troubles we now see, but fix our gaze on the unseen. What we see will soon be gone but the unseen lasts forever." (some parts left out for personal relevance)
Three major points stood out to me in this passage and each were equally important and relevant for me.
I. Verses 1-7 speak about God's mercy, which has given us new life. We are to denounce secret, shameful, wicked ways. We are not to distort God's word, not to add or subtract to it, as this will confuse others and lead them astray. The light God has given us we are to shine, which is Jesus and the word.
Verse 7 especially stood out- this treasure in jars of clay. What is the treasure, what is the clay, what do they signify? First, if we simplify, treasure usually isn't kept in regular old clay vessels that you would use to carry the day's water, or your olive oil, or flour in. It would be kept in something more "fancy" and something more capable of being locked and kept safe. Second, the treasure is God's mercy, grace, and salvation. He's given it to us. He's put in in us. We are the jars of clay. We might be regular looking on the outside, we might just be the flour tin or the water carrier, but inside is something great and glorious. He puts his treasure in us! Though we might not feel or look special or "worthy", he uses us and chooses us to hold his treasure, reflect his light, do his work. We are His.
II. Verses 8-15: We might be under attack, facing trials, confused about where we're going or what to do, BUT we are NOT destroyed, in despair, and never abandoned. We have hope, so we cannot and should not despair despite our situation. Even if this life "destroys" us, we have that eternal life in Jesus. But, above all, we are not ABANDONED. He is there, will be there, holds us up, lets us rest in him. Tying in with this was Sunday's sermon where I wrote down and underlined and circled several times: "God's silence is not indifference, God's silence is not negligence". There are situations in my life that I feel he is silent on, or that haven't changed, or the mountain hasn't moved. But, I know He hears me. I know He has a plan. It doesn't mean He's ignoring me or He doesn't care, it means I just don't know His plan...yet.
III. Which leads to the third point in Verse 16 to end: Don't lose heart! He hears, sees, knows us and isn't abandoning us, so don't lose heart! Outwardly, in our flesh, we might be failing, we might be going nowhere, etc. But, inwardly, our spirits, are being renewed daily. He's refining us, rebuilding us. Temporary trials feel huge, but when we compare them to the glory we will have in our eternal life with God in heaven, it will be worth it, it will seem small in comparison. So, we need to fix our eyes on God, on the unseen, on the eternal reward.
When it's hard, when I'm feeling persecuted or even just misunderstood, or failing in my parenting, I know He sees me, hears me, knows my struggles. He hasn't abandon me, He has a plan, he's working all things for my good. I am in a season of refining, and as pointed out twice in this passage: Don't lose hear! He uses and loves the ordinary, even in our day to day boring tasks. Don't lose heart! I might be chipped, cracked, plain old gray clay vessel, but I am His and he has placed His treasure in me.
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