Pretty Little Words
Pretty little words are everywhere. Words crafted, fonted, and overlaid onto pretty little pictures. Some make us laugh, some stir up our loyalty, some make us dream a bigger dream than we dreamt a minute ago, and some pull us deep into old bitter or old sweet memories. Words have a lot of power.
Words can be True and Not True. Sometimes the exact same words are true in one instance, but not true in another. It is not the words themselves that make them true or not true; it is the circumstances and the motives of the one who speaks them, whispers them, types them, twists them, sings them, uses them...
For instance, let's look at these words:
Those are pretty. There is something in that reassurance that can settle a racing heart, encourage a rejected soul, lift crying eyes and set a face like flint. A pretty little word mantra can lift us up from someplace low. I am disappointed, but, "What is meant for me will not pass my by." "What is meant for me will not pass me by."
As we scroll through whatever we scroll through and come across little bits of inspiration we should stop for a second and think, "ok, what does that even mean?" Pretty little words can be encouraging when they are true, but they can be deception when they are not true. That deception can keep us headed in a wrong direction. When we apply pretty little words that are not true, it can be like putting our hands over our ears and singing "la la la la la" to drown out true words that are spoken to us. True words that would lift us from a pit, instead of make us comfortable in it. When words are true they set us free. When words are not true they keep us chained.
What would it take for these particular words to be True or Not True. "What is meant for you will not pass you by."
Well, first who is it that has what is meant for you? Where is what is meant for you currently? Who put what is meant for you in motion so that it is heading toward you? Is it God? Is it your own personal output? Is it chance? Is chance a thing? Does the word "meant" cancel out the word "chance?" Just a few questions.
If you do believe in God, and you believe God, then you probably believe somewhere in your gut that God has a plan. Do your life and actions demonstrate that belief, or is that belief somewhere over on the sidelines as you go about running plays? His Word says He created each of us for a purpose. Each of us has a plan. That blows my mind because there are a whole lot of "us." But, we don't have to be able to grasp it in order to trust it. In faith, we step out and experience it, and then our trust and faith are confirmed.
Here is the thing though about the pretty little words above:
What is meant for you can and will pass you by.
If we believe God has the hand in what is meant for us,
then unless we position ourselves in His hand,
our meant for us will pass right by.
His meant isn't about a specific person, place or thing. His meant has so much more to do with our hearts in any circumstance, (as Paul said Read Philippians 4), than it does with our specific circumstances. But, as we begin to live out our meant... specific people, places and things do come with it. Not the other way around.
Our eternal salvation is not contingent on continually being placed well. The moment we are placed in Christ that is secure whether we are a Christian (follower of Christ) on milk or meat. God's grace is amazing. The cross of Christ was sufficient for eternity. But, rather, it's what was and is "meant" for us in this life.
It's our unique path and purpose determined by our Creator that can be missed. He tells us He will guide us if we walk in faith and let His Word light the way. His true Word. It is a tragedy if we let ourselves be satisfied with being sedated by pretty little words as we walk along any old path.
We should demand our path; cutting through bull and distraction, temptation and rejection, trekking mountains and valleys with faces set like flint to get on our path. Wherever you sit or walk today you can begin to go after it. There is no age limit. There is no righteousness requirement. It's a choice and determination. It doesn't mean all of your circumstances will change. It means your whole life will change even in your existing circumstances. That is what God does when we say the word yes.
- Then, those pretty little words are true.
- Then, we can know that we are directly in the path of our "meant." In plenty or in want.
- Then, even when confusing, we can rest in the sovereignty of the One who created us for a purpose.
- Then, there is peace.
This Guy Missed His Meant For Him...
In Luke 18 there is a story of the rich ruler who asked Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life. (Luke 18:18-30) He asked Jesus because he believed Jesus was good. He believed Jesus was the right one to ask, and that he had the answers. If this rich ruler was scrolling through reading inspirational quotes from Jesus he would have shared them on his own wall, tweeted them to his followers, posted the picture on his own site and would have been inspired, too. But, apparently, when it came down to the get down, the rich ruler was satisfied with just the pretty little words. He was not ready to actually follow them into the path of what was meant for him. Jesus told him to get rid of what was in between them (for him, it was wealth), and "Come, and follow me."
Not everyone in scripture got the specific game plan of "come and follow me" during Christ's life on earth. Some people he healed and then told them to go and tell everyone. Some people he healed and then told them to go and not tell anyone. Some people he taught then walked away from and on to the next village to teach others. But, to some, he said, "come, follow me." Here was this ruler's meant for him handed to him through the Words of Christ himself. The ruler hung his head in sadness. He chose otherwise because in his understanding the cost was too great. He went home to the life of his choosing, that probably still blessed him with fruits of this earth, but he missed what was meant. One life was maybe way more comfortable than the other, but assuredly way less fulfilling than if he was fulfilling his meant for him. He had the freedom to choose. So do we.
These pretty little words were not true for the rich ruler. If he went back to the house after his encounter with Jesus and wrote them on his bathroom mirror to encourage his heart... then these pretty little words would have been his deception that kept him on the wrong path. There are a lot of examples of people missing their meant for them in the Bible: King Saul, Samson. And, there are a lot of examples of people stepping into their meant for them by faith and obedience: Ruth, Paul.
Will these pretty little words be true or not true for you? Every single morning we have the opportunity to choose them to be true as we lay down reins we think we hold and take faith steps toward the One who holds what is meant for us.
2 comments
Woah. Very deep and thought provoking. You have a gift of words and teaching. Thank you. -Cody
ReplyDeleteThanks, Cody. I had been thinking and praying about this for a while after seeing a lot of little picture posts like that, then after reading Luke 18 the thoughts took this shape. Thanks for your note. I hope you are doing well!
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