Power Of Sweetness

 Key Scripture: “It is the kindness of God that causes us to think differently.” Romans 2:5

"wood, hay and stubble..." 1 Corinthians 3:12

Power Point:

     I’ve been so privileged to build some things for the Lord.  There have been some really good things. I was quite impressed!  Then one day, as I was leading a group of women into what I thought was a glorious understanding of the goodness of God, I discovered that I was hitting them over the head with my astounding revelations of His goodness. They were not receptive.  Why?  Because I hadn't laid the foundation in my own life for His kindness. I had skipped the part where I was supposed to be kind, be good, and be sweet. What I was doing was simply, wood, hay, and stubble.

There was division and frustration and finally one day I sat down and told the Lord that He simply needed to do something with them. They just weren't "getting it"! Quietly, as He is prone to do, (when I finally shut up), He spoke to my heart and said, “Suzanne, are you showing them what I’m really like or what you’re really like without My goodness? Ouch.  “Are you demonstrating my patient love, kindness and gentleness? Or are you trying to force it down their throats without applying it to your own heart first.” Busted. I was, in effect, saying, "Do what I say, not what I do!" I knew what I had read.  It made sense to my head but I hadn’t changed direction in my own heart.  Pride always blames someone else, doesn’t it?  God had been patient.  Now I could see that I needed to step back from that place of leadership until I learned what servant leadership was. I needed to cultivate an intimacy with Him that would cause others to want to be more like Him. From that place of intimacy, there should come a kindness, a bold kindness, a bolder gentleness and an even bolder patience.

       How much time do we spend pressing into that intimate place of His goodness?  We often run in for a quick charge of His power or a quick dose of patience and we don’t even smell the roses of His sweet aroma of His presence.

In addition to power, wouldn’t it be lovely to experience a double dose of His sweetness and kindness?  In addition to patience, wouldn’t a spoonful of His sweetness help the medicine go down? Isn't that what causes us to think differently?

     In America we are very devoted to power aren’t we? We’re obsessed with accomplishments and star-studded success.  I wonder if perhaps God doesn’t view much of that as wood, hay and stubble.  I wonder if He would be more impressed with the spirit of a man that has learned to live as a carrier of His nature; the love, the joy, the peace, the patience, kindness and gentleness. Our lives are to be living proof of the genuineness of His character and the sweet aroma of His presence.  We’re supposed to look different than the world. We’re supposed to BE different from the world. That’s how the words that we speak and the actions that we take are supposed to bring heaven to earth. We might bring words of correction but they are to be words flavored with the sweetness of God so that people will want to lick the spoon when we offer them holy medicine.

     It takes more than a quick trip to the Secret Place to let heaven invade your life.

Power Thought:

If we spent more time in His presence, absorbing, and abiding, we would never be able to get enough of sweetness of His nature.

Copyright (c) 2014, Suzanne Roberts, Unpublished Work.