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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.
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Written by Fabiola de Gómez, Iron Rose Sister Volunteer in Colombia.
My dog, Joy, is always with me. She came into our home six years ago and as her name says, she has brought us a lot of joy! She always wants to be by my side. So much so, that I bump into her several times a day and even more if I feel sad, sick, or down.
Joy reminds me of the joy that is always in us – the joy that comes from the Holy Spirit. But this inner joy is sometimes disturbed or silenced by the voice of my worries, anxieties, sadness, or anger. It is in those moments that I ask myself, where is my joy? It is easier for me to feel I have joy when things are “calm and under control”. But what happens when they are not? Those moments are the ones that most test where my confidence truly lies.
In this last year, due to the global pandemic, I could say that for many of us things were out of our control. Perhaps this caused our moods to be affected and at certain moments, our joy to be silenced by the pressures and difficulties of external circumstances.
This causes me to look at Jesus and wonder, how did he do it? Even in the midst of the most difficult moments of His life, His joy was still intact. Despite the anguish, sadness, and pain He experienced, He did not refuse to bear the burden of the cross. We see Him tell Peter in Matthew 16:23 (NIV) “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”
Jesus maintained His joy because His gaze was fixed on the reward. As Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) says, “…for the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of God.” Jesus shows me where my gaze should be so that joy will be a constant in my life. Doing this is what allows us as Christians to live out the Scripture that says: “rejoice always” (1 Thess. 5:16, NIV) and “consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (James 1:2-3,NIV)
By looking at the example of Jesus, we can understand that when we value trials for what they add to our faith and not for what they take from us, we can fully experience the utmost joy in their midst. So now I can say: Joy is always with me.
Sisters, let us walk with our eyes fixed on Jesus so that our hearts are not discouraged. When moments of difficulty come and you feel your joy is silenced or disturbed, ask yourself, where is my gaze fixed?