What’s Inside
The Juicy Truth...
I have one question for you today.
What’s inside of you?
If you’re a nursing major, you might be thinking “Do you want me to diagram and label all of it?” The rest of you are thinking “Varsity chicken tenders,” but that’s not what I mean.
Let me illustrate.
Imagine a lemon and an orange. They’re both citrus, right? Similar in color, texture, and growth. Many lemons even have an orange hue, making them extremely hard to tell apart from an actual orange. There’s only one major difference between the two…
What comes out when they are squeezed.
The results will be vastly different. While the lemon juice makes you pucker or wince from the tart flavor, the orange juice has a pleasantly sweet taste.
Often, we as people are very like these fruits. We may dress similar, look similar, or act similar to others. What really sets us apart from those around us is what comes out when we are put under pressure.
Some people allow themselves to slip into bitterness and frustration, and this frustration pours itself out on the people around them. This attitude then spreads to others and affects their outlook, and so an epidemic of frustration begins. A wise person once said, “A bad attitude is like a disease. It spreads easily and is desperately hard to get rid of.”
The other reaction to pressure is one of peace and acceptance. I’m not saying that anyone should simply bow under pressure, but we should accept what the Lord sends our way and try to learn what we can from the trial. This attitude also spreads, and can show others how great of a God we serve.
We must choose our reaction long before the pressure comes. If we want to see the sweet spirit of the Lord when we are under pressure, we must cultivate a relationship with Christ on a daily basis, building our trust and dependence on Him.
When we really, truly trust Christ, His joy will fill our hearts, and when the trouble comes and we are squeezed, that joy will spill out on those around us. We can show the power of God, and His holiness, instead of our own.
So I’ll repeat my question: “What’s inside of you?”
What “flavor” are you giving off to the world around you?
The choice is yours.
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