Is there a certain phrase your parents used when you were little–that you promised yourself you’d never use with YOUR kids? Mine was, “Dry it up.” When I cried, my mom would say, “Dry it up,” meaning, stop crying right now!
When our daughters were little, one of them was extremely pouty. She would cry endlessly when she got into trouble.
Guess what I said to her… Yep. Dry it up!
Well, I think I got my first Dry it up from my Heavenly Father. I’ve been extremely pouty recently, and well…
It’s become a habit.
I’ve been whining for several weeks now, and it’s become sort of like biting my fingernails. I’m not even aware that I’m doing it until it’s out there–smelling up the air.
So many wonderful things are happening in my life, but I’m struggling with a few little splinters that have festered and become infected. My whole heart aches. Why?
Crying out.
I’ve cried out to the Lord, asking Him to love on me, cradle me in His arms, let me crawl into His lap and just snuggle. And He’s done that, faithfully, repeatedly.
I’ve basked in Psalm 34:15:
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Then, last Sunday, I found more balm for my soul in 2 Cor. 4:8-9:
“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
A Whiff of “Get Over It”
Has God ever said, “Get over it,” to you? It’s a little shocking at first. I got my first whiff of “get over it” a few verses further into 2 Corinthians 4 (vs.16-18):
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”
Well, my troubles certainly didn’t feel “light and momentary.” And frankly, I wasn’t all that comfortable taking my eyes off the seen…the unseen isn’t nearly as–well, real. This temporary sure FEELS eternal!
And then the preacher (who happened to be my husband) had the nerve to read Philippians 3:12-16:
“Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me…Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. Only let us live up to what we have already attained.”
But I don’t want to be mature!
I want to WHINE!!! I don’t want to live up to what I’ve attained ’cause that means I have to act on knowledge I’ve gained thus far…and I know alotta Bible! Eee-gad!!
And then we went back to 2 Corinthians 4:17-21, and my heart fell to my toes:
“Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.”
Oh, my God, my God…forgive me… I don’t EVER want my short-sighted, self-focus to become an enemy to the Cross of my Savior. By living with my mind so focused on earthly things, I’ve totally lost sight of the power at my command and the transformation that awaits me.
I was living in defeat after Jesus had already won my victory. Can you imagine an Olympic gold medalist collapsing at the foot of the medals platform, saying he/she couldn’t climb the steps to accept the prize?
No More Whining, Mesu!
Yes, God will comfort us in times of need. Yes, He is close to the brokenhearted. But DRY IT UP! Make the climb and take hold of the victory we’ve been promised!
QUESTION:
- Has our Heavenly Father ever had to use “tough love” with you? What positive changes came through the experience?
