Written by Michelle J. Goff, Founder and Director of Iron Rose Sister Ministries, in Searcy, AR
Joy. That would not typically be the word one would use to describe the process of iron sharpening iron. Uncomfortable. Vulnerable. Challenging. Revealing. Humbling. Painful. Those are words that more aptly describe a reaction to discipline, or to one’s faults being pointed out.
When we are children, we are on the receiving end of discipline and correction. My friend’s one-year-old son was screaming mad at her for not letting him play with the trash. The young student may be convinced that she knows how to count, but when she, like Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, skips sixteen, she needs to know of her error. Later, the nursing student may not like her mistakes being highlighted by the supervisor, but the training she receives while in a simulation lab is invaluable when it comes time to treat a patient.
How can we learn if we are never corrected?
Spiritually speaking, God uses the Bible is one of our best tools for correction and instruction.
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
One of the other ways that God teaches us is through the iron sharpening iron, one another relationships in His name.
Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another. (Prov. 27:17)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. (Col. 3:16)
When my brothers and sisters in Christ point something out to me that I need to learn, a mistake that I have made, or something I may not be seeing clearly, my initial response is to cringe at being pricked and convicted by my error. However, when I recognize that this is done out of love… when they come to me privately and have prayed over what they are going to say… when we work together to see how God can help me apply this new knowledge… I truly am grateful and filled with joy.
This is a joy that the world would not define in the same way. And it is not a joy that many would seek out—a joy from being corrected by iron sharpening iron.
Through Iron Rose Sister Ministries, one of the things that we make a priority through the equipping and encouraging process is to have Iron Rose Sisters that will be the best cheerleaders for you to be the beautiful rose that God has created you to be. An important part of that Iron Rose Sister relationship is the courage, love, and grace shown through the process of iron sharpening iron level accountability and correction.
My challenge for you today is to pray 1) that God will provide an Iron Rose Sister in your life to bring you joy through the process of correction and growth, and 2) that God will fill you with wisdom when you are given the opportunity to serve as iron sharpening iron for an Iron Rose Sister.
When iron sharpens iron, there may be sparks of strong words. It may cause the temporary pain of conviction. Yet may we remember the eternal joy and gratefulness we have to be molded and shaped more into the image of Christ.
We are redefining joy through the process of iron sharpening iron. Pray that God will lead you to the right person with whom you can share in the Common Threads this week. Choose someone with whom you can be honest and genuine in your desire to grow and bloom. We all have thorns that are hindering our growth. And we are all given the opportunity to dig deeper and have someone hold us accountable.
If you are willing, we would love to hear from you about how this went for you and an Iron Rose Sister. We can rejoice together in all God is doing through each of our lives.