Latest / Fostering Faith / Reflections of Grace – How God Uses People to Shape Us

Transcript

Reflections of Grace – How God Uses People to Shape Us · Fostering Faith

• 0:00
  Welcome back to Fostering Faith. And so we're
• 0:02
  going to be talking in the episode today that
• 0:05
  has really kind of hit close to home for me this
• 0:08
  week. And so my name is Tracie Foster. I am your
• 0:11
  host of Fostering Faith this episode. And so
• 0:14
  today we're excited to talk about something that
• 0:16
  is deeply personal, but yet incredibly powerful.
• 0:20
  How God uses people around us to reflect who
• 0:23
  we are, to show us his love, and to challenge
• 0:26
  us to grow. And so have you ever had someone
• 0:29
  speak the truth into your life and later you
• 0:31
  realize exactly what you needed to hear? Or maybe
• 0:34
  you've had that button pushed in a way that exposed
• 0:37
  something in your heart that you didn't realize
• 0:39
  you needed to work on. That's not random. That's
• 0:43
  God working through people to refine us. And
• 0:46
  so let's get into it. And so people are mirrors
• 0:48
  who we are. And so you have Proverbs 27, 17 that
• 0:51
  says, iron sharpens iron. So one person sharpens
• 0:54
  another. God has placed people in our lives to
• 0:57
  help us see us clearly. When someone encourages
• 1:01
  you, they have maybe reflecting the gifts that
• 1:03
  God has placed in you. And when someone challenges
• 1:06
  you, they may be revealing areas that God wants
• 1:10
  you to grow in. And think about the last time
• 1:12
  that someone pointed out a flaw or corrected
• 1:14
  you. Did you ever listen with humility or did
• 1:17
  you get really defensive? And so what about the
• 1:21
  ways that he mirrors our relationship between
• 1:25
  me and him with relationships that we have here
• 1:28
  on earth? And so just what happened this week
• 1:31
  was Gia was signed up for a track and she had
• 1:36
  her quadricep doing. volleyball. And so she was
• 1:40
  out for 10 days and so she could not practice,
• 1:42
  but she had a track meet that came up and she
• 1:44
  was able to play and she was scheduled to do
• 1:47
  shot put and she had never done it. She had missed
• 1:49
  all the practices for shot put. So she was scheduled
• 1:52
  to do the shot put. And I had asked her several
• 1:55
  times, you know, hey, can I teach you? I did
• 1:56
  it in high school. I was fairly good at it. I
• 1:59
  said, I would be more than happy to help you.
• 2:00
  No, mom, we have professional coaches. And so
• 2:03
  day by day went by and there was no accepting
• 2:07
  of my help. And then the day of the meet came
• 2:09
  and she was very adamant that I was not to help
• 2:13
  her. She was going to figure out herself. She
• 2:14
  was just going to go up there and throw it. And
• 2:17
  I said, please do not because you will hurt your
• 2:18
  shoulder. You just can't go wing an eight pound
• 2:21
  ball and expect it to go. anywhere and not hurt
• 2:24
  yourself. And so, you know, please let me show
• 2:27
  you. No, mom, I have it. I'm fine. And so it
• 2:30
  was fine. You do whatever you want then. And
• 2:32
  I, I walked off, I got ready for work and, you
• 2:35
  know, came back in there, gave her kisses goodbye.
• 2:37
  Um, you know, said, I love you. Have a great
• 2:39
  day. And I left. But as I was on my way into
• 2:42
  work in prayer and over her day, just as I always
• 2:47
  do, you know, God's reflection really was, how
• 2:50
  many times have I tried to show you what to do
• 2:52
  and you didn't take it? You said, I got this.
• 2:55
  How many times have I said, I am your loving
• 2:57
  father and let me lead you? And you said. I can
• 3:01
  do it. And so it was just such a gentle punch
• 3:04
  in the face from him. And he was so kind and
• 3:08
  so loving. And so it was about that reflection
• 3:11
  of that humility. And so I immediately got to
• 3:13
  work and FaceTimed her. And I was just like,
• 3:16
  I am so. Sorry, if I am supposed to teach you
• 3:20
  the way that you're supposed to go and I'm in
• 3:22
  second Kings, first Kings and walking through
• 3:24
  all of those Kings and their successors and their
• 3:27
  kids screwing up because they watched their parents
• 3:30
  screw up. And that really was in that reflection
• 3:32
  of what am I teaching my daughter and what is
• 3:35
  she picking up on? And so. I immediately, whenever
• 3:38
  I got to work, I called her and I apologized.
• 3:40
  I said, I am so sorry. I had an attitude with
• 3:42
  you this morning. I said, but you irritated me
• 3:44
  because you did not accept my help. I said, but
• 3:46
  God showed me like how many times have you. not
• 3:52
  taken the help that I had extended to you. And
• 3:54
  you said, let me do it myself. And he extends
• 3:56
  that grace. He extends that love to me whenever
• 4:00
  I don't receive his help. He doesn't get frustrated
• 4:02
  with me. He loves me and he loves me hard. And
• 4:05
  so I am sorry that I got frustrated with you.
• 4:08
  And so as I am teaching you the way that you
• 4:10
  should go, you are never too big in your britches
• 4:13
  to tell someone that you were sorry and that
• 4:16
  you always have that humility as you have done
• 4:18
  something wrong. It doesn't matter what position
• 4:20
  that you're in. president, a CEO, a mom, a dad,
• 4:23
  whatever you, I am sorry. And so it was about
• 4:26
  that reflection of what he has done for me. And
• 4:29
  every time that we have done that to him, he's
• 4:32
  like, let me show you this way. And you're like,
• 4:33
  no, I got it. He's like, let me show you the
• 4:35
  timing that I want this. And you're like, no,
• 4:37
  I got it. And so it was just about how many times
• 4:39
  have we done that to him, but he extended his
• 4:41
  grace and his mercy and just loves us so hard.
• 4:46
  And so it would have been. I could have just
• 4:49
  left it alone and I could have been like, fine,
• 4:51
  she's going to deal with it, but that's not the
• 4:52
  way that I want to train her. And so as we read
• 4:55
  through scripture, as we read through Kings,
• 4:57
  second Kings, you can see how the fathers, the
• 5:00
  Kings, you know, defied God. And then they repented
• 5:03
  and they loved God. And then they, and then they
• 5:05
  died. But then you see their sons pick it back
• 5:07
  up and they are going back to their ornery ways.
• 5:10
  And it's just like, why didn't they see their,
• 5:12
  their God, their father did that. And then he
• 5:15
  had to repent. And then he turned back to God.
• 5:18
  And so why are these kings going back and forth?
• 5:20
  And so I think it's so important that as parents
• 5:22
  that we really do reflect whenever we are wrong,
• 5:25
  whenever we have a stance and we're trying to
• 5:27
  keep our kids safe and things of that nature.
• 5:29
  I really do feel like it's so important for us
• 5:32
  to have that humility and humble ourselves in
• 5:36
  front of our children and say that we are sorry
• 5:38
  whenever we've done something wrong. And so have
• 5:40
  you ever noticed how your closest friends reflect
• 5:43
  parts of your character? Take a minute and just
• 5:47
  think about your closest friends. And so how
• 5:49
  are their reflections part of your character?
• 5:53
  And so God uses relationships to shape us. And
• 5:55
  so we have Ecclesiastic 4, 9 through 10. Two
• 5:59
  are better than one because you have a good return
• 6:01
  for their labor. If either of them fall down,
• 6:05
  one can help each other up. And so you have encouragers
• 6:08
  in your life. You have truth tellers in your
• 6:10
  life. You have challengers in your life and you
• 6:12
  have difficult people. encouragers are those
• 6:14
  people who lift you up, who remind you of God's
• 6:17
  promises, who edify you, who build you up. And
• 6:20
  you have truth tellers. You have friends who
• 6:22
  love you enough to speak that hard truth and
• 6:25
  tell you, what are you doing? You have challengers,
• 6:28
  the ones who push you out of your comfort zone
• 6:31
  to see you grow and to see you flourish that
• 6:33
  don't keep you stuck. And you have difficult
• 6:36
  people. You have people that are frustrating
• 6:38
  ones. They teach you your patience, humility,
• 6:41
  and grace. You have those that are the people
• 6:44
  in your lives that have encouraging words. I
• 6:48
  feel like I have a gift of encouragement. I have
• 6:51
  a truth telling. And part about me too, I'm not
• 6:56
  going to beat around the bush. I'm not going
• 6:57
  to sugarcoat things. I'm also going to be a challenger,
• 7:03
  the one who pushes you out of your comfort zone
• 7:05
  so you can grow. And so a great example of this
• 7:07
  is that a couple years ago, I had a friend who
• 7:10
  I challenged to do triathlons with me. So I had
• 7:13
  a group of us that I just challenged, like, hey,
• 7:16
  let's do this. We've never done it before. We
• 7:18
  don't know what we're doing, but we're going
• 7:19
  to do it. And they're like, no, no way. I'm like,
• 7:21
  yes, let's do it. and one of my friends she has
• 7:24
  asthma she was like kind of not in shape but
• 7:26
  she was working out she's like no I'm gonna die
• 7:27
  like there's no way I could do this and now she
• 7:31
  is in qualifying for national triathlons and
• 7:34
  she is flourishing and so while I thought God
• 7:37
  had put it on my heart to do this crazy task
• 7:40
  It wasn't for me. It was because he seen what
• 7:42
  was in her and he used me to encourage her to
• 7:46
  flourish. And so it is such an honor to be able
• 7:50
  to be used by God to see someone else's amazing
• 7:54
  parts come together once they really do see what
• 7:59
  God has put in them. And what about those difficult
• 8:02
  people, even those people that frustrate you?
• 8:05
  They're teaching you patience, humility, and
• 8:08
  grace. And so God can use those people that just
• 8:12
  irritate you, that push your buttons, and you
• 8:15
  can really see what he is doing to you. And so
• 8:19
  allowing those difficult people, okay, God, why
• 8:21
  do you have them in my life? What is in my heart?
• 8:23
  Do I have bitterness? Do I have jealousy? Do
• 8:25
  I have anger? Do I have resentment? What do you
• 8:27
  see that I don't see? And so who in your life
• 8:31
  has helped shaped your faith and how? How, who
• 8:35
  in your life has been that encourager, that truth
• 8:37
  teller, that challenger, that difficult person
• 8:39
  that at first you really thought like, God, just
• 8:42
  take them away from me. Just take them out of
• 8:44
  my life. But really it was like, oh my gosh,
• 8:47
  because of them, they were able to let me see
• 8:51
  what God sees in my heart. And how about embracing
• 8:55
  correction and growth? And so we have Hebrews
• 8:57
  12, 11. It says, no. discipline seems pleasant
• 9:01
  in the time but painful later on however it produces
• 9:04
  a harvest of righteousness and the peace for
• 9:07
  those whom have been trained by it and so it's
• 9:10
  human nature to resist correction but it's that
• 9:13
  that part that we miss out on growth if we and
• 9:16
  whenever we do it and so how do we react to feedback
• 9:19
  reveals our heart how do we respond in humility
• 9:23
  or pride Whenever you get that email that says,
• 9:26
  hey, you missed the mark on this, or hey, you
• 9:27
  know, we need to have a talk at lunch, or hey,
• 9:30
  you did this. Are you quick to say, oh my gosh,
• 9:34
  no, I didn't. It's not my fault. Or are you quick
• 9:36
  to say, oh, thank you for bringing that to my
• 9:39
  attention. Instead of avoiding tough conversations,
• 9:43
  invite God in to see that growth. And so what
• 9:47
  about asking God to open up your heart? in the
• 9:50
  lessons he's trying to teach you through others.
• 9:53
  And so God, what are you trying to teach me through
• 9:55
  this email? Why are, why am I so hurt by this
• 9:58
  email? Why was I so hurt by their words? What
• 10:00
  truth are they speaking into me? And so, and
• 10:02
  don't get me wrong. You're going to have people
• 10:04
  that in theory are trying to tell you the truth
• 10:06
  and they are so far from God that they are, they
• 10:10
  are hurt. And so also we have to realize that
• 10:12
  hurt people hurt people. And so we're going to
• 10:15
  take people's, judgment and words with, you know,
• 10:22
  a grain of sugar and not a condoning sugar. But
• 10:25
  in that same respect, we're going to take what
• 10:27
  they say to counsel because we go to God first.
• 10:31
  And so we take what the criticism is. We take
• 10:34
  what people have said to us and we go to God
• 10:37
  first and then let him work it out through you.
• 10:40
  And he's given us a wise counsel. And so we always
• 10:43
  pray first and then we go to others. And so what
• 10:46
  is the one area of your life that you feel God
• 10:48
  is challenging you in to grow right now? Through
• 10:52
  those tough conversations, through that maybe
• 10:54
  correction that you don't see that you're pushing
• 10:57
  off, that you're saying, no, I don't need to
• 10:58
  do better than this. What is he doing through
• 11:02
  others to help shape you, prune you, mold you?
• 11:05
  Are you open to that? And so asking him to open
• 11:08
  your heart, open your eyes, let me see and let
• 11:11
  me know what you're doing with me. And so we
• 11:14
  have the reflection of Christ for others. And
• 11:18
  so you have Matthew 5, 16, it says, let your
• 11:20
  light shine before others that they may see God's
• 11:24
  good deeds and glorify the father in heaven.
• 11:26
  If we want God to use others to shape us, we
• 11:30
  must always be willing to be used by him. We
• 11:33
  are being the kind of a friend, a mentor, or
• 11:35
  an encourager that God can use to shape someone
• 11:38
  else. Are we being that person that is going
• 11:42
  to surrender our day, our schedule, our time
• 11:45
  for God to use us to speak life, to give grace
• 11:49
  and to love like Jesus. Are you opening up your
• 11:52
  day? Are you so tight knit, anal retentive and
• 11:58
  not allowing God to work through you to reach
• 12:01
  others? Please know that God's will will be done,
• 12:04
  but will you be a part of it? And so that should
• 12:06
  really just be such a gentle, but yet so painful
• 12:10
  punch in the face. Because if you do not allow
• 12:13
  God time in your day, he will move on to somebody
• 12:18
  else and you will miss the opportunity to be
• 12:20
  a blessing. And you never want to miss the opportunity
• 12:23
  to be someone's blessing. It is such an amazing
• 12:26
  feeling. that you are doing God's work down here
• 12:30
  on earth. And he picked you to help somebody
• 12:33
  else out. There ain't no better job. There's
• 12:35
  no better job. And you also have Matthew 28,
• 12:38
  19, that we are here to create disciples. And
• 12:41
  so we're here to grow heaven. And so there's
• 12:44
  no better job than to be used by God to brighten
• 12:47
  someone's day, to let them know that they are
• 12:49
  loved, that they are seen, that they are heard.
• 12:52
  And so how can you be more intentional in helping
• 12:55
  others grow in their faith? What opportunities
• 12:58
  do you feel like you've missed that you've not
• 13:00
  had that boldness? You know, having that prayer
• 13:03
  with God about give me the strength, give me
• 13:05
  that boldness, give me that speech, give me the
• 13:07
  words that they need to hear. And I'll use me
• 13:11
  as you need me. I surrender my day. I surrender
• 13:13
  my schedule. I have that on my, in my wall, in
• 13:16
  my office, never be so busy that you do not allow
• 13:19
  God time to work in the middle of your day. And
• 13:21
  so we, are loose knit. I have surrounded my schedule
• 13:23
  and we have a covenant with God that whoever,
• 13:28
  you know, shows up, shows up and we will see
• 13:29
  them because my schedule is fully dependent upon
• 13:32
  him. He makes or breaks my schedule. I can have
• 13:35
  30 patients. I can have 20 patients, but it works
• 13:38
  just beautifully because he is in control. He's
• 13:41
  in control of my day. I let that go a long time
• 13:44
  ago and my day goes so much smoother because
• 13:46
  I know he's in control. I know his timing is
• 13:48
  perfect. And whenever I feel frustrated, I really
• 13:53
  just have a game with the devil. And I say, not
• 13:56
  today. You are not going to get me frustrated
• 13:58
  today. You know, we're going to let go and let
• 14:01
  God and we're going to move on. And so in this
• 14:04
  episode, I really hope that this has really kind
• 14:06
  of helped you see people differently. How are
• 14:09
  we mirroring to people? How are we looking at
• 14:11
  people through God's lenses? Do we have encouragers
• 14:14
  in our life? Do we have truth tellers in our
• 14:16
  life? Do we have challengers in our life? Do
• 14:18
  we have difficult people that we've ignored because
• 14:21
  we don't want to be challenged? We don't want
• 14:23
  to hear that truth. We don't want to speak life
• 14:26
  because you don't have time. You don't have that
• 14:28
  positivity. And so it's... really about allowing
• 14:32
  God to grow us, to mold us, to shape us. And
• 14:35
  the people that he has chosen to be in your life
• 14:38
  and the people that he's removed from your life,
• 14:40
  thank him in advance because he heard the conversation
• 14:42
  behind those closed doors. He's seen their heart.
• 14:45
  He's seen that that was not good for you. And
• 14:47
  so instead of trying to hold on to closed doors,
• 14:50
  I always pray that whenever he closes doors,
• 14:52
  make that handle hot. And that way I don't try
• 14:54
  to get back in that door. And I thank him for
• 14:57
  those open doors and those friendships that I
• 14:59
  don't necessarily know why or the friends that
• 15:02
  I feel like I want. I always go to him, hey,
• 15:03
  do we want to be friends? Do I want to be, do
• 15:05
  I need to be in close connection with her? Because
• 15:08
  we have our tribe, we have our people, but we
• 15:11
  are meant to love all. It was not a choice, but
• 15:14
  it was a command that we are to love. all. And
• 15:17
  so we want to close this episode out in prayer
• 15:20
  for you guys. And so we also do want to take
• 15:23
  this time and opportunity to say thank you for
• 15:25
  listening. Thank you for spending this time with
• 15:26
  us. And that we hope that you guys rate and review
• 15:30
  and leave comments. I know that other podcasts,
• 15:32
  I mean, people that have 10 million subscribers,
• 15:34
  you know, say like they always have like so many
• 15:37
  subscribers, you know, that listen to this podcast.
• 15:39
  And so leave a review, help us grow. And so In
• 15:43
  a closing prayer, it says, Lord, thank you so
• 15:45
  much for placing these people in our lives to
• 15:47
  sharpen us, to challenge us, to encourage us.
• 15:50
  Help us realize your hand at work through even
• 15:53
  every relationship, whether it is difficult,
• 15:56
  whether it is easy. Thank you so much for being
• 15:59
  in the midst of our day. Give us the humility
• 16:01
  to learn, the wisdom to grow, and the heart to
• 16:05
  reflect your love that you've given us. We pray
• 16:08
  all this in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. And so
• 16:13
  what is one lesson that God has taught you through
• 16:16
  someone else? Leave a comment, leave a review.
• 16:20
  Thank you guys so much for tuning in and stay
• 16:22
  tuned for next week.