my teeth

Before you read this blog make sure you read the one before it entitled Piedmont Church. That is one I would like all to read...especially the lyrics to the song for it is my prayer for Piedmont.

I had my wisdom teeth taken out this weekend. Not fun, especially at my age. The whole process reminded me of some of the adjustments that we need to make in life. I have known for some years that my wisdom teeth needed to be removed. I knew it, dentist have been telling me. I chose to ignore their advice because the teeth were not bothering me, no pain, no discomfort, no real issue. I even made my trips to the dentist less frequent because I don't like going and I didn't really want to hear again of how my wisdom teeth needed to be removed. It wasn't that I thought they were wrong, I think I knew all along that something needed to be done...I just didn't want to invest in the time and pain it would take.

Then came the day my dentist said that my wisdom teeth were beginning to cause problems with other teeth, so I decided to do what I knew all along needed to be done. This past Saturday I had them removed and today I look like Jerry the Chipmunk.

That is what we all tend to do about adjustments that God calls on us to make, especially adjustments that may be uncomfortable, that require a sacrifice, that are risky, or that require some time. Adjustments like stopping an unhealthy habit, ending a relationship, changing a lifestyle, forgiving someone who doesn't deserve it, going to church, tithing, the list could go on. Often we know deep down that these adjustment need to take place. We just don't want to face what it will take to make the adjustments, so we do nothing.

Our response is to ignore it because it doesn't seem to impact our daily life. We stop going to church as regular because we do not want to hear about it, sometime we write it off as our little vice, bad habit, or something that "I need to change someday." But the days go by and nothing changes. The problem is that God is an amazing spiritual "dentist" that is able to use life's circumstances to bring us to a point where we are eager to make that adjustment needed...the circumstance he uses the most is pain. The longer we get settled with living with an attitude, habit, emotion, sin that needs to change the more pain it takes to get us willing to change.

God is committed to shaping you into the best you, so committed that he will use that pain in life if that is what is needed.

So what are the spiritual, emotional, or relational adjustments that God has been asking you to make for a while? What is one small tangible step you can make this week to begin the process of making that needed adjustment? Now is that time for action!