Poured or Spilled?

Feel free to listen to the sermon that I heard on Sunday from Sean on the life of Joseph from Genesis 41 for a glimpse into what I am thinking about and where my crazy head is going....http://www.missiodeicc.org/sermonmain.html

I too have struggles with all the different things that I have learned over these last weeks about Joseph's life as I even think back and what I thought were God's plans for my life. It is amazing to me how God continually reshapes me, molds me and places a new desire in my heart. I have never looked at the lives of Joseph or Job as a life that is being poured out versus a life that is spilled all over.

The analogy of spilled milk is so crazy to me for a few reasons, first I was allergic to milk for so long and it was something that I wanted at times but could not have. After I finally out grew my allergy and was allowed to have milk it was something that I tasted, did not like the end result and so now I have no desire for it. I do not like milk. I do not have milk with cookies, cakes, ice cream, breakfast, by itself, I just do not drink it all. I have learned that through medical research that your body actually can get the calcium that it would get from milk in many other non-milk foods. In my opinion milk is one of the things in the fridge that is only used for cooking, it cannot sustain everything by itself.

Now here is where it gets a little crazy to me when I think of myself as a glass of milk. For so many years of my own walk with the Lord I would ask God how I could be used. I had this longing in my heart to be used by Him and poured out into others. Considering that I am a human being I just thought that God was not really using me, but that all of my gifts, talents, skills and abilities that I had on my own were being wasted. Ultimately I can see now that I was wrong and was just poured out by Him and not spilled by Him.

The times that I can see God pouring me out into others I was like, no thanks. God this is too hard, is there another way that I can be used, this is not all that I thought it would be. I found myself questioning if this was really worth it or if there was not another way that I could get the things that I thought needed to be accomplished done in a different way.

As I have though about milk over these last few days I have learned...First it is something that your body does need and should have. Second milk can not be used all on its own accord, it does need to be poured out. Milk does not get to choose if it is spilled or used for a purpose and neither do we...we are merely an instrument that is used by God to complete and accomplish his goals and purposes. We are used and not needed and can do NOTHING on our own, We need to be poured out. Maybe sometimes we might have to be spilled a little to put us back in check for when we are being poured out.