They say, "when life throws you lemons, make lemonade!" Do you support the local lemonade stand in the summer? Kids with homemade little stands, selling a refreshing taste of sweet lemons to quench yourself amidst the summer heat. But what would you do if you got a glass of rotten lemonade? What happens when those life thrown lemons turn out to be rotten ones? Do you still attempt to make lemonade? Or do you try to make the best of it, going on thru life just accepting that in some form or fashion, your life is meant to be rotten? Many people in the world have a learned behavior that you just deal with the rottenness that gets thrown your way. We are told to make our own path and make the best of what we have.
I wish my life could have been a glass of sweet lemonade, instead of the latter. The rottenness crept in during elementary. Afternoon play dates with my childhood friend, Chelsea. She had all the newest Barbie dolls, the cars and of course the dream house! Me? I had used and wanna-be (off-brand) dolls, along with make-shift cardboard box houses. I'd dream of the day of living that "lavish" life that my friend had. I thought the lemons were rotten enough, but when my father passed away during my junior year, it seemed like those lemons were month-old rotten ones! And God? Well, I felt he was so far away from me - and he just didn't care!
"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." Psalms 34:18
My longing for a sweet, juicy lemon followed me into my twenties and early 30s, as I longed to find some sort of relevance in my life. Whether it be jumping from church to church, or seemingly worse yet, relationship to relationship. My look on life was simple - fill that hole with whatever I could find to mask the fact that I was slowly dying inside. See, that rotten lemon that accompanied my father's death, left a big rotten hole in my heart. I never dealt with it. Like that of, you guessed it - a lemon. Eventually a lemon will become so rotten that it needs to be thrown away - much like holes, or sin in our life. We must work thru those rotten lemons in our lives, if we ever want to live a joy filled and happy life.
I really like how the Message words James 4:8: "So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper! Say a quiet yes to God and he'll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit rock bottom and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it's the only way you'll get on your feet."
It really didn't become super imperative to change the way I was living, with a huge hole inside, until fairly recently. When I hit the 40-mark, I realized I'm not getting any younger (although, many make the comment that my skin is that of someone in their twenties). See, that big rotting lemon has followed me around my entire life, and I've gone through my share of losses, causing that rotten 'ole hole to grow out of control!
Have you ever had a rotten hole fester? The longer it does, it grows and grows. And while it is increasing in size, there's Satan, waiting on the sidelines for it to burst rotten lemon juice all over your life! But what if? What if we handed that big rotten lemon over to God, allowing Him to make the sweetest glass of lemonade you've ever tasted? That's the secret that the enemy gets hit with, leaving him stunned! We will never be able to sell our version of lemonade if it's rotten. We want the satisfaction of a perfect ripe lemon - but we will never get it ourselves. We need God's help. And it's as simple as asking Him for it. His response is as simple as asking if we'd like a sweet glass of lemonade.
Read James 4
1. Be completely honest: what lemons has life thrown your way? Have you let them fester, causing big rotten holes to grow?
2. Considering rotten lemonade, is there anything that is preventing you from handing the lemon back to God?
3. What lessons have you learned from your "lemons" - be them rotten or ripe? What has the Lord taught you whilst "making lemonade"?
Today's Prayer
Lord, today I ask that as I come near to you, that you in return come near to me. Let me be honest with you, Lord - as it seems, life has handed me some lemons - and they're rotten. Please give me the willpower to hand over any of my rotten lemons, even the ones I've let fester into big rotten holes. Help me to be humble, as I hand my brokenness over to you. I want you to make some sweet lemonade out of my life's lemons - therefore, I wish to hand my life over to you, so that I can receive your grace and goodness for my life.
Amen.
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