Sticks and Stones

I just finished teaching Intern Class here at church. Four mornings per week, the interns (and some of the residents) spend an hour together with a different teacher. This morning (Thursday), it was me!

I’ll state for the record, teaching a 7am class is the LAST thing (time) I would chose to do ANYTHING…other than waking up to a cup of coffee while reading my Bible. At this time of day, I feel I have about as much to give as a flattened toad on a Texas highway. Still, I’ve been teaching Intern Class for probably 6+ years at this time…and I love it. It’s a great example to me each week that God’s grace is indeed sufficient for me(!)

This morning, we talked about the unique ways God has made us. To begin, I asked each person to pray a word of thanks to God for some SPECIFIC way He had made them. We didn’t quite get it the first time around, so I had us do that again. THANK YOU, GOD—the second time through was markedly different, as each person identified a very particular spiritual attribute God has placed in them. “YES!!! That’s what I’m talking about!” Such was my exclamation (yes, even at that early hour) following the last prayer.

I closed our time together by emphasizing why it is SO important that we thank God for how He has made us. These are three things that came to mind:

1. Giving thanks to God frequently (as the Bible says, “always”), grows in us a thankful heart. This will drastically change our outlook on life (increase our joy, hope, etc.)
2. Thanking God for a specific way He’s made us is a part of acknowledging and receiving His calling on our lives. It’s also makes the statement that we are His possession, His precious children.
3. The spoken word is HUGELY powerful. That old “Sticks and stones” statement is only half-true (the first half). Words can have a more lasting effect than many physical things we’ve experienced. God SPOKE all creation into existence through words. THAT’S POWER!

I love a lot of things about Intern Class. Just being together with those incredible young people is but one. I end up learning a lot from them. I also love that God uses these class times to encourage, remind, challenge and instruct me.

Today I am freshly reminded of the importance of laying hold of, and declaring, that which is true of me in God. It’s not prideful to that. It’s my statement to God that I’m His…and that I’m REALLY happy about that.