Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Stinging Nettles
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Stinging Nettles
Proverbs 22:3 – A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. (NIV)
Psalm 23:1-4 – The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (NIV)
When I was young and foolish, my boyfriend and I slipped away from our church picnic to find a secluded place. Walking along a dirt road from the picnic area, we came across a beautiful, verdant field filled with lovely plants waving in the breeze. Beckoned to explore, we never wondered why there were no trails through that field. But the moment we plunged in among the plants, we found out why. Those lovely plants were stinging nettles! Oh, the welts on my arms and legs! With the damage done, we quickly returned to the road.
Back home, my unhappy mother slathered my itching arms and legs with calamine lotion while she scolded me for snagging my clothes. When she finished, she wiped away my tears with a tissue, hugged me, and said, "I love you, but you're grounded." Then, she made me wear mittens so I couldn't scratch my very itchy skin.
That was just one time when I deliberately and stubbornly persisted in continuing down the path I'd chosen. Every time I experienced the painful consequences, I knelt in prayer asking for forgiveness. That's when Jesus Christ used a comforting word from a family member, a friend, or even a sermon at church to comfort my angst.
Being in a relationship with Jesus Christ means that He stays with us in challenging times as well as good times. When we ask the Lord to forgive us, He does, and sometimes, He even removes the consequences, but not always. Sometimes, like a good parent, He allows us to experience the fallout of ill-considered actions … like walking through a field of stinging nettles and suffering from the stinging welts of sin.
Prayer: Father God, forgive us when we stray into the stinging nettles of sin and comfort us with Your presence, for we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
View all episodes
By Proverbs 22:3 – A prudent man sees danger and takes refuge, but the simple keep going and suffer for it. (NIV)
Psalm 23:1-4 – The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. (NIV)
When I was young and foolish, my boyfriend and I slipped away from our church picnic to find a secluded place. Walking along a dirt road from the picnic area, we came across a beautiful, verdant field filled with lovely plants waving in the breeze. Beckoned to explore, we never wondered why there were no trails through that field. But the moment we plunged in among the plants, we found out why. Those lovely plants were stinging nettles! Oh, the welts on my arms and legs! With the damage done, we quickly returned to the road.
Back home, my unhappy mother slathered my itching arms and legs with calamine lotion while she scolded me for snagging my clothes. When she finished, she wiped away my tears with a tissue, hugged me, and said, "I love you, but you're grounded." Then, she made me wear mittens so I couldn't scratch my very itchy skin.
That was just one time when I deliberately and stubbornly persisted in continuing down the path I'd chosen. Every time I experienced the painful consequences, I knelt in prayer asking for forgiveness. That's when Jesus Christ used a comforting word from a family member, a friend, or even a sermon at church to comfort my angst.
Being in a relationship with Jesus Christ means that He stays with us in challenging times as well as good times. When we ask the Lord to forgive us, He does, and sometimes, He even removes the consequences, but not always. Sometimes, like a good parent, He allows us to experience the fallout of ill-considered actions … like walking through a field of stinging nettles and suffering from the stinging welts of sin.
Prayer: Father God, forgive us when we stray into the stinging nettles of sin and comfort us with Your presence, for we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.