Mastering YOU Monday...how ugly can you get?

Happy Monday everyone!! Question…are you willing to be ugly for one day in order to be beautiful in Him for a lifetime? I owe a big THANKS to my husband for giving me the title for this one…thanks darlin’! ;-) You see we were talking last week about making changes and he posed this question and of course my wheels got to spinning. So I ask the question, how many of us are willing to die to our flesh to be in a position to be used greatly by Him?

God loves us, but don’t get it twisted, He doesn't care
a hill of beans about our agendas and our plans. We’ll do ourselves a big favor when we finally come to the conclusion that this life really isn’t all about “us”…it’s all about Him! We must remember that life in general is a big script and we, as are all other humans on this earth, play a small yet significant role in it. I know, an oxymoron right? Small because we are no better than anyone else and significant because He has empowered us to do Big things on His behalf. On His behalf…not for our fame or fortune, but to His glory!

Back to the question…are you willing to be ugly for one day in order to be beautiful  in Him for a lifetime?  This question has nothing to do with our physical features at all, but has everything to do with our character(heart). You see, it’s all about us giving of ourselves. All about how selfless we can be in order that someone elses life may be impacted! When I think about this question, the story of Ruth and Naomi come to mind…found of course in the Book of Ruth. You see, Ruth could have easily gone the way of her sister-in-law. They had after all, lost their husbands, family and everything they owned!  What on earth would Ruth have gotten out of following Naomi, an old woman  with nothing to offer her, who was in the same boat as she was(losing her husband,  her sons and everything she owned as well).  Naomi insisted that Ruth and her sister-in-law go make a life for themselves(for they were still young), but Ruth refused and told her mother-in-law that she would stay with her until the end.  She would sacrifice her future and her life to make sure that her mother-in-law was taken care of. Now how many of us would do that? Really now? Only Godly wisdom would reveal that to Ruth.

To make a long story short, Ruth and Naomi landed in Bethlehem, where Ruth gleaned the wheat left over by the farmers, to take care of her mother-in-law and herself. Unknowingly to Ruth, she was gleaning from the fields of a “rich” man by the name of Boaz, who saw Ruth’s commitment to her mother-in-law and was smitten by her. He later married her, making her AND her mother-in-law wealthy!  They later had a son (Obed), who would become the grandfather of King David and of course we know that Jesus the Christ our Lord and Savior is from the lineage of King David!

How awesome is that! Ruth was made an ancestor of the King of kings and Lord of lords, all because she was willing to be ugly *die to her flesh and take on the ridicule of picking up someone else’s left overs(scraps) for a season*,  in order that she would be beautiful in Him for a lifetime  *forever have her name(actually a whole Book of the Bible) written where everyone would see her loyalty and faithfulness on display for generations to come*.  Ruth looked beyond the natural and saw into the spirit realm. Her faith in God was so unshakable, that she knew He would reward and honor her for her faithfulness and sacrifice to someone other than herself. Talk about mastering life!

Have we made our lives all about us?  Outside of our children and family members, have we put some one else before ourselves?  Have we gone out of our way to offer someone encouragement? We say it all the time, but how many of us are actually “sold out” for Christ? Easier said than done, right?  Are we sold out enough to inconvenience ourselves to take that single mother of four -who doesn’t have a car- to the doctor because she just found out she had cancer? Or take time out daily to minister to that teenage girl who is six months pregnant and has been kicked out of her home?  Or offer a family your Christmas money because the only thing they want for Christmas is to keep their electricity on? Or stay up countless hours praying with someone because the voices in their heads keep telling them to kill themselves? Listen, when I ask these questions, I’m not just challenging you, I’m challenging myself as well, as we all take the necessary steps to mastering life! As a pastor's wife, I run into scenarios like this all the time.  Is it easy…in my flesh NEVER! To be honest, it’s tiring, time-consuming and overwhelming, but that’s when my stinkin’ flesh is in control. BUT, when I do it with the Spirit of Christ the satisfaction is indescribable!! Ruth 1:1-4:22

Tune back in next week for part 2 of this topic, where I'll bring another perspective. Until next time...I call you BLESSED!

All Rights Reserved copyright© 2012-2013 Michell Pulliam “Prowess and Pearls” by Michell Pulliam

 

 

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