Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Stirring the Pot



"He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was lead as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth." – Isaiah 53:7


My Grandmother Ruby wasn't the gossiping kind. She had a name for those who shared all their problems in detail. She called them "pot stirrers". She'd say they were "stirring the pot and they'd end up cooking up something terrible". She was right. As those pot stirrers would roam around from one person to another they'd gather bad advice like a dog gathers fleas. They'd get discouragement, they'd gain anger, they'd get fake sympathy to enforce their bad attitudes, and next thing you know, the pot was full!

When we give our problems the focus of our minds, they consume us. We should never give way to doubt or discouraging thoughts. It's often the mouth that ends up causing our problems. If every thought we had that was hurtful, disappointing, or not glorifying to God was simply tossed out of our heads by not focusing on it, consider how much happier we would be!

Just in case you're sitting back reading this and saying, "Oh, that's denial", let me just say that denial isn't a negative thing when it produces positive results. Will worrying about your problems make them go away? Will God be pleased with your worry, which shows a lack of faith in Him? Will He be glorified as you go from one person to another showing this lack of faith?

When Jesus was being tortured before His death, He did not speak. He bore incredible physical and emotional pain without opening his mouth. There's a lesson there for us. We need to keep our mouths shut more often. I can say this because I'll testify I should lead the "shut up" parade and carry the banner!

The only person who can help with our problem is God, and that should be the one we take them to. There's no problem we can have that he doesn't care about, can't fix, or won't fix if we only believe in Him and His deliverance. He won't give us poor advice, and He won't go behind our backs and spread those problems to others. Focus on God, and His authority over the obstacles in our life, and not on the problem itself. Focus on God, and all your problems will simply fade in comparison to His love.

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