What does God do with mud?

I was blessed to be invited to be a guest speaker at Grace House where I shared some of my testimony using the imagery of sin and circumstances piling on like mud, and what God does with the mud that we accumulate. I used a Super-Girl action figure and playdoh to show how mud can pile on, and how Jesus takes it away. I also used a portion of the story of Joseph to illustrate that what other’s may do to harm us, God uses for good. I was amazed by all of the ladies going through the recovery program at Grace House and truly speechless at the work God is doing in their lives. I love serving on the Grace House Advisory Board and helping with social media too. God has taken me a long way and continues to draw me closer to Him. Praise Him!  An excerpt from my talk is included below.

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I have been a Christian since the age of five but wasn’t truly living in the full victory of Jesus Christ until more recently.  I’m a daughter of The King- and He is so gracious to keep gently pulling me back to Him time and time again when my paths have strayed. 

Like you, I was uniquely woven in my mother’s womb and known by God from the very beginning. I was set apart from others in the world and He desires me to do His Kingdom’s work. My father sent His son to die on the cross for my sins so- through Him- we have power and authority over this world. Sounds crazy, it is- it is the insanity of God.

Without embracing my heavenly Father diligently, deliberately, purposefully, humbly and completely sin and circumstance can quickly pile on me like mud, heavy, yucky, slimy- mud. Colorful mud. Muddy mud.

Picture Super-Girl. Pretty, shiny, capable of taking on the world- and then she slowly begins being covered in mud. One glob sticks, and then another, and another- until completely covered. It makes it hard to move when stuck in there and it is certainly hard to fly.

A wise Christian-woman once reminded me to let my light shine for others to see. I was thinking about that image and talking to my husband about it. I asked him, “how can we shine light out if we are wrapped in that mud? Or if we are lucky to be out of the mud, how can we shine our lights to others if they are wrapped in that mud?” James said “wait for God to dry the mud and it will crumble off.” James is my wonderful husband- we’ve been married since 2007 and have two beautiful daughters. When he said that, I thought he may be on to something, so I turned to scripture and it turns out, God does work with mud- on several occasions:

Isaiah 64:8 says “Yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter, we are all the work of your hand.”

Jeremiah 18:1-6 says “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ‘Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him. Then the word of the Lord came to me: ‘O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter does?’ declares the Lord. ‘Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand.”

2 Corinthians 4:7 says “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed. We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.”

We are treasure wrapped in that mud. God can wipe the mud away, take the mud off of us, blow dry it from the inside until it crumbles, or take it and mold it into a fierce shield of armor for our protection.  As with the story of Joseph, even when others intend to harm us, God intends it for good. He takes that mud and uses it for good.

I just love the bible, the living word of God that communicates on so many levels and through so many layers. One of my favorite stories in the bible is the story of Joseph. The complete story is found in Genesis starting in chapter 37, for time sake I’m going to summarize, though my summary barely scratches the surface of what all is included in this story. Joseph was the youngest of 12 brothers and was highly favored by his father. Making matters worse, Joseph’s father gave Joseph a beautiful “ornamented robe,” which sparked some jealousy amongst the others. Things escalated quickly when Joseph told his brothers about a couple of prophetic dreams he had which, in the end, had the brothers bowing to Joseph.

Genesis 37:5-7 says: Joseph had a dream and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more. He said to them, “Listen to this dream I had: We were binding sheaves of grain out in the field when suddenly my sheaf rose and stood up right, while your sheaves gathered around mine and bowed down to it.”

I have fallen victim to not thinking things through, so I chuckle when I think of Joseph naively sharing his dreams and then being surprised by his brother’s reactions, I mean how did he think that would go over? Not well.

Genesis 37:8 The brothers said to him “Do you intend to reign over us? Will you actually rule us?” and they hated him more.

Joseph later went on to describe a second dream, which was also not well received and his brothers sold him into slavery.

The enemy plays to our prideful and sinful nature igniting the flesh into battle against one another. Knowing the brothers were prideful, the enemy created jealousy in their hearts leading to the selling of Joseph. Sin, however, doesn’t stop with just one person- Joseph wasn’t the only one affected by this sin- Joseph’s father Jacob was too. When the brothers brought Joseph’s coat to Jacob dipped in the blood of a goat, they didn’t have to fabricate a lie they simply stated “We found this, examine it to see if it is your son’s robe.” Jacob fabricated his own story when he replied “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” It amazes me that 11 brothers could see their father so distraught and nobody came clean.

After a lot of challenges while in slavery, Joseph ended up interpreting a dream for Pharaoh and Pharaoh put Joseph in charge of all the land in Egypt. When Pharaoh’s dream came true, the whole world was in need of food. Joseph’s brothers traveled to Egypt to buy grain and unknowingly bowed down to their baby brother. After some back and forth, Joseph revealed himself as their brother and forgave them. 

In Genesis 50:19, Joseph says “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good.”

They intended harm, but God intended it for good. Joseph was set apart, a child of God, the chosen son, who’s robe was tarnished by the blood of the goat. We are also set apart, children of God, redeemed by God’s Son, and cleansed by the blood of The Lamb.

God took my mud and removed each bit piece by piece, God took Joseph’s mud and molded him into a leader, and God is taking the mud from all of you and making it a masterpiece. While sin reaches beyond one person- so does Grace. Grace is being granted to you, today, and that will resonate for generations to come. Your families will be stronger as a result of your bravery and choice to follow God. Follow God- diligently, deliberately, purposefully, humbly and completely. Praise HIM for working on us all from the inside out- don't let any piece of mud stay stuck to you. In all things go straight to God. You can take your praise to God, and you can take your mud to God. He can keep your paths straight and your super-hero capes clean. Through Jesus, Super-Girl, you too can fly.