From Mess to Message

“Who has believed [confidently trusted in, relied on, and adhered to] our message [of salvation]? And to whom [if not us] has the arm and infinite power of the LORD been revealed?”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53:1‬ ‭AMP‬‬

Mess.

That’s what I was about to walk into.

I literally couldn’t see the floor.

But knowing that I had been led by the Holy Spirit to help someone out, I moved forward.

One.

Piece.

At a time.

Sometimes several pieces at a time- as I charged the heap

with a broom, and dust pan.

It’s not my first rodeo with mess.

I believe I blogged back a ways, with an insurmountable heap of my own, that was staring at me.

Sometimes life has the same way of piling up.

Nasty things accumulate when the job seems overwhelming.

Instead of dealing with the issues-

as they emerge, we just sit and watch it pile.

So, enter the Holy Guest, who’s pursuing this friend, of a friend,

through me.

After the fact, when all is clear, I can see what God did.

Not just for her, as I had assumed.

He gave me the understanding, that, sometimes, we just need to help others with the heavy lifting.

I struggled at first, to see my part in this.

I honestly didn’t know her.

I knew someone else that knew her, but more than anything,

My Father knew her.

He knew exactly what she needed.

She had become overwhelmed with the task at hand.

If I’m being honest, my initial thought was, you made this bed, so, as gross as it is, lay in it.

Sorry Jesus.

Thank you for reminding me of how gross my mess has gotten, and sometimes still gets at times.

What I really wanted was an epic bomb to explode and just be done with it, but I realized that God was showing me that I didn’t have to do it all, for her, but to help her with the heavy lifting.

There’s a heaviness that comes with despair.

Sometimes we need to do the heavy lifting just by showing up to offer someone hope.

“This isn’t so bad…”

Someone needs to hear those words, backed with the reality that Jesus is bigger and stronger than any situation.

To no surprise, another friend of mine, called the morning I would be refreshing someone else, with the childlike, dose of spiritual nitrous, declaring these Words to me:

MY GOD IS SO BIG, HE’S STRONG AND HE’S MIGHTY. THERES NOTHING OUR GOD CANNOT DO!

So, He was reminding me of The Word to give out in practicality.

What if I would have shown up and just sat down with her and cried?

There would still be a mess.

That’s what some people think of Grace.

But there’s no message in that!

No, I showed up with Hope to deal out!

I watched her demeanor change over the course of our time together.

What time and Grace (in the form of brute strength and a broom, maybe even a little coffee…) I had to offer, God multiplied.

I just got a pic of the finished result, which I perceive, looks better then when she first began!

That’s what God does.

He turns a mess into a Message!

But let’s recap on how that happens.

God just blew my mind with this from scripture.

Remember when Elijah met up with a mess?

And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.12 ¶ And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.13 ¶ And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.

She felt like my friend.

Just ready to sit and watch the things in her life die.

BUT GOD…

Most people would think Elijah was harsh.

How dare he tell her to feed him first?

But we’re missing something if we don’t read between the lines.

Elijah had BEEN PROVIDED FOR, SOLELY BY THE GOD HE WAS TELLING HER ABOUT,

For a while before that. (Read All of 1 Kings 17)

I would say, Elijah testified about God bringing him out of a mess!

It was His MESSAGE to her.

Hallelujah.

God’s heart is never overwhelmed by your mess.

He’s looking to make it a message.

I know Him.

Consider this your Broom and Dust Pan!