God sees everything and He is concerned about every details of our lives. We often forget that nothing get pass the Lord. Things we consider insignificant are top of mind for Jesus. I was reminded of this fact as I entered my house yesterday and the Holy Spirit said to me, "Remove the rotten orange from your bag."
I paused for a moment and thought to myself, I have no oranges in my bag. I then looked into my purse and confirmed there was no food in it. Disregarding God's words, I went along my merry way until the next morning. I was about to join an early morning call when I realized I didn't have my earpods. I began searching everywhere. As I headed downstairs to check the car for them, I heard a voice say, "Check your bag." "It's not in my bag," I uttered out loud. Afterall, I spent the last several minutes digging through my purse.
Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw my laptop bag and decided to search through it for my earpods. As I thrust my hand into the bag, I was greeted by a mushy sticky object. Withdrawing my hand, I realized there was a rotten orange in my bag. "Oh my!" I exclaimed and began cleaning out the mess. In that moment, I totally forgot about my earpods and started focusing on the orange mush plastered inside my bag.
When I was done cleaning up, the words - "Remove the rotten orange from your bag" - rang in my ears. My only response was "Thank you, Jesus!" The rotten orange would have oozed mold onto everything in my bag if I hadn't found it this morning. As I reflected on the mess, I had to admit that the Lord does care about every faucet of our lives.
He wants to remove every rotten fruit - envy, malice, fear, lust, greed, selfishness, etc. - from our lives. We know that when any substance becomes rotten, it can no longer be used. What may be hidden in your bag, your life, or your character that is rotten? Jesus wants to replace our rotten fruits with the fruit of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. After which, He can use us to His honor and glory.
Thank you, Lord!
- Contributed by BB