There is a picture that Jay has from when he was little. He his cousin and his sister were on a sled and Daddy Jack was pulling them behind a four-wheeler. They got stuck and DJ was spinning the wheels to get unstuck, however when he tried to go forward the tires ground down and slung the dirt then mud all over the kids. In the picture they were crying, they were upset. They were so mad they were eating dirt.
Let’s face it many times in life we must eat the dirt. We may not be behind a set of tires we may fall down face first and the grit of the dirt will get between our teeth.
During our yoga class Sarah played a sermon by JD Jakes. Listen to these words:
We must have the passion to get up off the ground and stop eating dirt. Let me say that again- we must have the passion to get up off the ground and stop eating dirt.
Dirt- what is dirt? There is good dirt and bad dirt. There are four different types of dirt. Dirt that is the most stable all the way to dirt that is the most dangerous.
As I was thinking about dirt, I began to look in the bible for dirt. This is what I found:
- Dirt is the source of life
- Without dirt there is no life
- Dirt represents natural life
- We are related and dependent on dirt
Genesis 2:7
New International Version
7 Then the Lord God formed a man[a] from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
God is the potter in which created from the dirt, so dirt is part of who we are.
Genesis 3:17-19
New International Version
17 To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate fruit from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat from it,’
“Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat food from it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return.”
Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you. Good and bad for you-us. I started thinking of the good and the bad of dirt.
Bad dirt Genesis 3:14
New International Version
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this,
“Cursed are you above all livestock
and all wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.
This must have been horrible to eat dust for the rest of your life and live on your belly?
GOOD DIRT Jesus Heals a Man Born Blind
9 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7 “Go,” he told him, “Wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So, the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
Jesus, plus dirt allowed the man to see.
We eat dirt. Dirt can be good and bad. Dirt can be adversities. Dirt can be financial issues, marriage issues, developmental issues, diseases, mental, friends, family, work. Dirt can make us sad, unhappy, unhealthy, miserable. Dirt can get in our face and leave us crying. Dirt can get in-between our teeth and leave us with a bad taste in our mouth. Dirt can surround us, hold onto us, and leave us dirty. The dirt can be filled with thorns. Thorns of today, thorns of yesterday and the upcoming thorns. We can crawl around in the dirt like a serpent forever never changing never getting up out of the dirt.
OR
We can use the dirt as a healing salve coating us with God’s love and lifting us up.
The last several years have found our family in a lot of dirt. Dirt that I couldn’t wash away. Dirt that stuck like mud. Dirt that blinded our vision instead of healing our sight. A dirt that had a foul odor like manure. Dirt that I wouldn’t wish on anyone, BUT after yoga that day I began a transformation. I really started praying about our dirt. You may say easier said than done. Believe me I have said that too. I must work on my mind daily.
As I sat on the couch, I looked up at the beautiful butterfly hanging above my fireplace. I thought about the dirt that a caterpillar eats. A caterpillar must eat dirt and leaves. All the dirt greatly enriches their intestinal flora. They are self-medicating. This enables them to then form the cocoon and emerge into a distinct separate life a better more beautiful version of them. Without the eating of dirt, they would never be transformed.
Do I like or enjoy that I have had to eat dirt? No. Was I somewhat left traumatized that I had to watch others eat dirt? You bet ya. Am I still sad that we were behind the tires that threw the dirt? Yes, I am. Are some people I love still eating dirt? Yes, they are.
HOWEVER, I today am giving God the Glory for helping me stand again for giving me the passion to see the good behind eating the dirt, working on healing my heart, learning many lessons from the mud and transforming into what God wants me to do after I’ve emerged.
You may find yourself today eating the dirt if you are I invite you to do these challenges of the week.
CHALLENGES OF THE WEEK
- KEEP YOUR DAILY APPOINTMENT WITH CHRIST
- DIVE DEEP IN HIS WORD
- REMEMBER EVERYDAY IT TAKES A LOT OF DIRT EATING TO EMERGE AND TRANSFORM
- FILL YOUR CUP WITH CHRIST
Resources:
JD Jakes, YouTube, New Year 2022 New Me!
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