Scars, Marks, and Understanding the Difference between the Two

Scars, Marks, and Understanding the Difference between the Two

Every morning, I get an email-devotion sent straight to Gmail. Some mornings I get up, read it, and kind of forget about it. Some days, I don’t get to read it until the afternoon or nighttime. But this morning, however, I woke up to the sound of my devotion-email being delivered to my phone, which happened to arrive to my inbox before 7a.m. Bless them. All jokes aside, I’m sort of glad that I woke up to this devotion-email this morning because I’m pretty sure it’s exactly what I needed to read. (and maybe what some of you need to read also, so I’m going to do what I’ve been teaching my precious twin-toddler-nephews to do: I’m going to “share, share, share, share, share!”)

And here goes…

My devotion-in-an-email this morning centered around Job13:23b, 27, “Show me my offense and my sin… You keep a close watch on all my paths by putting marks on the soles of my feet.”

Ok. There it is. So, I’m unsure what your mind first raced to when you read that verse, but I must be honest with myself and honest with you. My mind ran to two places, neither of which were spiritual in nature. Haha.

The first place my mind ran? Toy Story. When the child Andy marks his name on the bottom of his favorite toy cowboy, Woody. Juvenile thoughts, I know. But my-oh-my what a powerful message. Just to sidetrack the conversation for a second: Why do you think Andy-in-the-movie does this? Here’s my initial thoughts: He’s a little kid, who probably had an extra crayon or two. Crayons are tempting for little kids. They use them everywhere they should and even places they shouldn’t (like on the walls of a house…. I have a few siblings who could attest to that. haha) It’s just what little kids do. They mark things. With crayons. While that IS true, I’m going to take this a little further, and slightly on a more serious tangent. While kids do enjoy a good crayon-marking or two, I ultimately think Andy marks his name on his cowboy because he loves ‘em. He wants everyone to know the cowboy is HIS. He doesn’t want anyone to steal him. In other words, he’s probably pretty jealous for him. Should anyone else take Woody away from Andy, he’d probably call them out in true little kid fashion, “HEY! GIVE THAT BAAAACK. THAT’S MINE!” Yeah, you get the picture… not a “spiritual” thought line per se, but definite spiritual implications, so stick with me for a second…

The second place my mind ran? The day I got the privilege to be a bridesmaid in my dear, sweet friend Amanda’s wedding. Amanda-from-Lynchburg married my friend Andy-from-Jacksonville (which is a beautiful story to be retold at another time and for ages to come). On the day Amanda married Andy, she had his name written on the bottom of her high heel. Yes, in true little kid fashion, backwards letters and all. Haha. I love everything about Andy and Amanda’s story, but I think I especially like that part. Not only is it unique, child-like, and straight up fun times, it’s a symbol that stands for something much deeper. Allow me to retrace my steps/words for a moment to solidify a point, if I may.

Why do you think Amanda marked Andy’s name on her wedding shoes?

A.) Toy Story is an awesome movie that should be remembered and watched on everyone’s wedding day.

B.) She had nothing left to do with the crayons she had leftover from childhood. The temptation was too strong.

C.) She pretty much loves the mess out of Andy and wants everyone to know that she’s his. She doesn’t want anyone to steal her away from him. She’s probably pretty jealous for him. (in a good way)

D.) I think the answer is C.

As if you aren't already confused enough if the answer above is truly C or D now, let me throw something else at ya. There is a difference between marks on our feet and scars on our feet.

With all said, I think this morning it is safe to say that we all have scars on our feet, in one way or another, from this journey we call life. Some are scars left over from wrong turns and poor decision-making on our parts. They remain there to teach us lessons and remind us of our vast need for a Savior, a Rescuer, a Pursuer, and a Lover. Other scars are left from painful situations, pain-in-the-neck people, or for a variety of other reasons, but the great thing about scars is this: they are very different from marks. Marks are intentional, as seen in the cartoon-movie of Toy Story and the beautiful romance of Andy/Amanda. Scars are incidental; they simply come with the events of life. Another great thing about scars is this: they don’t define us, nor do they tell us where we are headed. They simply serve as a reminder of where we’ve been, how good God’s forgiveness is, and what He’s already placed under our feet so that we could claim the victory through His name.

More than the scars we’ve got going on our feet, we, as CHRISTians, each have a mark. We carry His name everywhere we go. In the original email-devotion I got this morning, it spoke to the effect of God marking Job and guiding His path, regardless of all the circumstances Job endured. He does this to Job because He loves Job more than I can even begin to understand or describe.

He also does this to us out of His love for us.

He marks us and guides us because He loves us. He wants everyone to know we are HIS. He doesn’t want anyone or anything to steal the joy that He alone gives, let alone steal our heart, affection, and/or attention away from Him. When you get right down to it, He’s that JEALOUS for us. And He should be. He paid a ridiculous price for our sins on the cross, and He goes to ridiculous lengths/heights/depths and literally to infinity-and-beyond to always pursue us back in relationship and fellowship with Him.

Today, wherever life and this message find you, know that God’s keeping a close watch on all your paths, just like He did with Job. He has a strategic purpose, plan, and design for your life. He’s a God of detail – nothing about you has been overlooked.

If you are a Christian, know that His mark is on your feet. His name is written on your sole (soul?). He’s the Rock you stand on, the Shelter you run into, the Love relationship you cultivate for a lifetime. He is with you, faithful to you, upholds you, and protects you in ways you may not even realize. You are His, and He is yours. His love is jealous for you. Is your love for Him jealous as well?

I’ll leave you with that thought to ponder… I just found a box of crayons and a closet full of shoes to mark.

“Unanswered” Prayers

I’m not really a fan of country music, unless Taylor Swift counts (I’m pretty sure she doesn’t). With Taylor Swift included or not, I do, oddly enough, know my fair share of “country” music lyrics.

One song that has always kind of stuck with me is the one that says, “I thank God for unanswered prayers.” (See, I don’t even know who sings it or what the name of the song is… this just goes to show that I’m so-not-a-country-music-fan.)

I don’t know about you, but I don’t thank God for ‘unanswered’ prayers.

Know why? They simply don’t exist.

For a long time, I kind of thought and felt like they did. I’ve literally spent entire seasons of my life before praying and crying to God about situations in my life that I wished turned out differently than they did.

Even if unanswered prayers did somehow exist, I don’t think I’d thank God for them. I think I’d struggle with them. I’d obsess over them. I’d make them a constant concern on my heart/mind. I’d lose sight of God by focusing too hard on what the answers to my long-awaited prayer requests were. I’d waste a lot of time and energy leaning on my own understanding of things or working and striving to make outcomes favorable to my own liking. Neither of which would be bueno at all.

But from what I’ve been taught my whole life and have now come to understand experientially about God is that He is a loving Father.

He is good.

He only provides what is and would be ultimately good to/for His children.

When we call, He answers us.

Simply put, He answers prayers in three ways: YES, NO, or WAIT.

Creatively put, our minds can’t possibly even conceive all the ways He answers our prayers and works on our behalf.

The only “problem” with the way God answers our prayers is…… us.

If we’re honest with ourselves, we’d recognize that we’re not always in the right state of mind/heart to readily hear the answers He has to give to our prayers.

So what do we do? We label them as “unanswered.” And continue on with our own way of doing things. Sad, but oftentimes true.

We pray, and then go about our day, and then pray some more.

But sometimes, I like to think the way we live our day IS our prayer to God. Don’t get me wrong… prayer is a necessity. To pray without ceasing is both a command and  a goal. All I’m saying is this: our words, actions, and interactions are all an overflow of our hearts, are they not? Anyone can muster up words during “prayer time,” but He ultimately knows what we need better than we do. We need to be ready for when He answers our prayer requests in His way. (I’m preaching to myself here.)

Lately, I’ve been asking the Holy Spirit for some pretty big stuff. I’ve been pouring out to Him some pretty deep and personal things. Along with that, I’ve been begging Him to discern to me what He’s answered ‘yes’ to, what He’s answered ‘no’ to, and what He’s answered ‘wait’ to.

I know He hears, and I know He’s answering. I also know that He offers wisdom and discernment to those who ask for it.

Today, I’m asking you to do the same.

Please do not to settle for the myth that ‘unanswered prayers’ exist.

Don’t use that as an excuse to wreck yourself trying to figure things out or force out the answers on your own terms, liking, and timing.

Trust that God’s already answering over-above-and-to-infinity-and-beyond what you’ve been praying about.

And rest in the knowledge that ultimately, He knows what’s best.