The Petulant Petrel
Isn't this exactly what we do when we're feeling attacked? In our defensive response we go all “petrel” on our attacker, verbally vomiting our wrath right into their face. And if we're forceful enough perhaps, like the Petrel, we'll knock them down.
This is certainly crude, but is it the most effective way of dealing with human conflict?
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1). … ”A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel” (Proverbs 15:18).
Know Your Value
Take out a new crispy $10 bill and ask the students or congregation what you are holding . Ask if anyone would like it. All would raise their hands. Then take a another $10 bill out of your pocket that is dirty and crinkled up and ask what you are holding now. Ask if anyone would like to have it. All would raise their hands again.
Each one of us is so valuable! We were made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Just like the $10 bill didn't lose its value and was still worth $10 no matter how dirty it was, so too our value doesn't change even though we may have gotten dirty with sin. We need to look at ourselves through God's eyes, knowing that we are loved, we are chosen, we are the most precious creation of God!
Luke 12:6-7 says "Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God." If God does not forget about the smallest of his creations, he certainly is not going to forget about you his son/daughter.
In 1John 3:1 it says "Behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God." We are his children made in his image.
The problem isn't us losing our value (child of god), it's us not realizing our value at times.
Just like the $10 no one minded when I asked the question would you still take the $10 that was all squished up and dirty because the knew the value. The value does not diminish because of the circumstances it was in. It could be a crispy new $10 bill, an old one that is a little ripped, one that is a different older design, one that has been used a lot or a little. They all are worth $10.
My prayer is that you live with the knowledge of knowing your true value and don't let someone else or your circumstances dictate what your value is. The $10 only gets its value from one place: the US Treasury when they printed it. If I told you that the $10 in my hand is actually $5 you wouldn't believe. In that same sense, don't let others or the devil fool you about your true value.
The Story of the Drowning Man
It is well documented that drowning doesn't always "look" like drowning. It is often silent and seemingly unremarkable. That's because of someing called The Instinctive Drowning Response.
The Instinctive Drowning Response - named by Francesco A. Pia, Ph.D. - is what people do to avoid actual or perceived suffocation in the water. And it does not look like most people would expect. There is very little splashing, no waving and no yelling or calls for help of any kind. To get an idea of just how quiet and undramatic from the surface drowning can be, consider this: It is the No. 2 cause of accidental death in children ages 15 and under (just behind vehicle accidents). What's more, of the approximately 750 children who will drown next year, about 375 of them will do so within 25 yards of a parent or other adult. In some of those drownings, the adult will actually watch them do it, having no idea it was happening. Drowning does not look like drowning.
But for those situations which are obvious enough to attract the attentiion of a potential resucuer, the act of rescue itself can be quite dangerous. According to the rescue experts at ProTraining.com,
Once a person shows signs of drowning, there is very little time left in which to rescue them. That said, do not jump into the water to save a drowning person unless you have been specifically trained to do so and you are certain that it is safe.
A person who is drowning will panic and grab onto anything they can — including an intended rescuer. The last thing you want is for them to drag you down under the water with them.
To that point, Watchman Nee once shared an incident about a man who was drowning in a river. There were several people standing by, but none of them knew how to swim, except for one strong swimmer. However, despite the drowning man's desperate cries for help, the swimmer did nothing but stand by the shore, watching the struggle. The crowd became anxious and started shouting at the swimmer, urging him to go and save the man.
After a few moments, when the drowning man was just about to go under and could no longer struggle, the swimmer finally jumped into the water and swiftly rescued him. Once the man was brought to safety, someone from the crowd angrily asked the swimmer why he waited so long to act.
The swimmer calmly explained, "If I had jumped in earlier, the man would have been thrashing around in his panic, and both of us could have drowned. I had to wait until he was exhausted and no longer trying to save himself. Only then could I rescue him without risking both our lives."
Watchman Nee used this story to illustrate a powerful spiritual lesson. In our relationship with God, we often rely too much on our own strength, effort, and wisdom to solve problems or overcome challenges. We try to take control of situations and work things out on our own. However, true faith requires us to surrender our self-effort and acknowledge our helplessness.
Only when we stop struggling and trying to save ourselves can God step in and work in our lives. Just like the swimmer had to wait for the drowning man to stop fighting, God often waits for us to come to the end of our own strength. It's only then, when we fully depend on Him, that His power can be made perfect in our weakness.
This story teaches the importance of letting go of our reliance on ourselves and learning to trust completely in God's ability to save, guide, and provide for us.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, NIV).