Like A Splinter

By: Rebekah Page

The other day, my thumb started to ache, but I couldn’t quite figure out if it was internal, or a piece of my nail or thumb causing the soreness.

As time and pain increased, I had to discover the culprit and get it treated.

I came to find a sliver from a thorny weed of my flower bed. I vaguely remember getting “bit” by the weed, but it was now deep within and invisible to the eye.

Often, this is what sin is like in our lives.

1. Our sin may not be detectable to us or others
2. Once sin penetrates, it causes physical, emotional, and spiritual pain and destruction affecting every area of your life.  

We must pray to discover, remove, and then turn away from our sin as we cling to Christ for victory, fulfillment, and sustenance.

A tiny sliver of a foreign object and boy can it hurt!  A tiny sliver of sin,  and it hurts us and others.  Another thing, satan would love to have us blind to our sin and have us think we “good people” and not in need of a savior.

The way sin hurts us, and others is nothing compared to what it does to our perfect and holy God.  It offends Him and disrespects Him.  Our sin separates us from God and the penalty is death.  In order to restore our relationship to God and save our souls, a payment for our sin must be made.  

In the old testament, before Christ came into the picture, the only way to pay for the penalty of sin, was through a sacrifice the priest would offer before the Lord on behalf of the believer (involving a dead scapegoat in replacement for the individual).

Today, by the beautiful plan of God, Christ died in replacement for our death (he is our scapegoat), and more beautifully while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8). We are still sinners in need of a representative to take the wrath of God from us. But unlike before, instead of a priest day after day standing and performing his religious duties;and offering sacrifices again and again to save the sinful, we have Christ seated in victory in the heavenlies, who offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, Himself. And now, He beckons us come to Him. For by His one sacrifice He has forever made perfect we who are being made holy (Hebrews 10:11-14).

We don't have to do anything to fix ourselves before we turn our lives over to him.  We are toxic in our humanity, but we become transformed by the renewing of our mind through Him and His Word.  It changes us from the inside out. We need only listen and follow our shepherd.  He is calling you. Come as you are.  He loves you.

Like a girl in need of a splinter extractor, we are in need of a of a sin extractor in our lives.

He will do the dirty work.  He will go into our flesh and scrape away impurities to make us perfect and holy in His eyes.  He is faithful.  He will take our sins and remove them as far as the east is from the west,  He will replace our hearts of stone with hearts of flesh when He puts His spirit in us (Psalm 103:12; Ezekiel 36:26). If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to cleanse us from all our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

Truly nothing else will satisfy us like renewing our minds daily with the love of God for us and sharing His love with others.  Pouring into someone else’s life will yield a double blessing.  You will be encouraging someone and while doing so, you yourself will be encouraged.  It may often be in an area where you have struggled in the past, but are now free from bondage, and standing in victory because of the hope you have in Jesus. If you need someone to walk alongside you, find a local church that is teaching the scriptures, aligns with scripture, and has believers that are following Christ and scripture.

Once our sin is revealed to us, we must turn them over to Christ and take action steps necessary to remain healthy in areas we are prone to sin. Seeking God, scripture, and wise counsel will help you determine practical steps you can take to guard yourself against every sin common to man.  Which is ALL sin, ALL sin is common to man, there is nothing that you are facing that others before you have not faced.  No temptation has overtaken us except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let us be tempted beyond what we can bear. But when we are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that we can endure it (1 Corinthians 10:13). We CAN endure it! We CAN do it because of the power of the Holy Spirit now residing within us.

We still have weeds, thorns and thistles, and though we are being deweeded daily, we will grow into a more healthy vibrant plant if we choose to cling to Christ.  Blessed are those who delight in God’s word, who chew on scripture day and night, who are not like the wicked, or unfit company, but let us be like trees firmly planted by streams of water, yielding fruit in its season, and whose leaves do not wither or fade (Psalm 1:1-3).

He is miraculously deweeding us and making us more beautiful, fruitful, and resolute.

Father, plant seeds into the hearts of your men and women today.  Lead and guide us to walk and take victory in the fulfillment and sustenance you have already bestowed upon us and help us to boldly share it with others. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Many Blessings,

Rebekah Page

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