Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend. Proverbs 27:17 KJV
I love to see you smile. I created joy and happiness to be the norm for your daily experiences. Nearly everyone smiles while looking at a young child taking their first steps. Others enjoy watching the playfulness of their pets. I enjoy watching each of you growing in your trust for Me.
Sin, stress and the sorrow of life squeezes your spirit man. I have made you in such a way that this compression cannot be maintained. It finds a way to express itself in your countenance. My servant David expressed this when he wrote, “Why are you so downcast, O my soul?” Adam and Eve not only felt the guilt of their sin, but it was revealed in their face when they looked at Me as I approached them in the cool of the evening.
Each of you have the ability to see hurt, confusion, disorientation or uncertainty in the face of your relationships. Speak life! Created in My image, I have given you the ability to speak (stir up) life in one another. The words which flow forth from your tongue have the greatest potential for good. You can break the chains of hopelessness in one another, just by the words you share. Every day, you are fitted with a whole arsenal of life transforming words.
The change in Zacchaeus started the moment when My Son, Jesus, said to him, “Zacchaeus, today I am going to your house.” Don’t ever underestimate how important inclusion is in the life of a person. When was the last time you invited someone to participate in a daily activity? Stop waiting to be asked, go ask someone else. Ask Me, and follow My leading. I will show you many who are in need of a word of inclusion. They are hungry to know they are valuable to someone else.
“Sense of belonging” is communicated with words as well as physical touch and time together. I know that some of you wanted to hear your parents, spouse, or a significant person say that they love having you in their life…it never happened or it occurred so infrequently that it failed to communicate. I told my Son, that I take great delight in him at His baptism. He needed this reminder as He was about to be in the wilderness for the next 40 days.
For those who missed hearing words of belonging, I love you and enjoy doing life with you daily. My face and favor are continually resting upon you, My child. I love your smile.
Whispers from your Father, God.
Great to hear your voice on here, Greg! Thanks for your faithfulness – and your encouraging words. I especially love your reference to the fact of our being created in God’s image… That has taken on much more meaning (more relevantly personal and “human”) when I realized that this must mean (even more specifically) that every human is made after the image of Jesus Christ, “the express image of God” – The God-Man. And everything that God is up to in our lives is about conforming us to that image, hidden in the “DNA” of every human being… No wonder Scripture declares that we are “fearfully and wonderfully made”!
That makes me smile – and I will smile more today because of you!
Thanks so much Wayne for the encouragement…made me smile back reading your comment