Lipstick on the Mirror
By Lexi Cole
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
My sisters decorated my room as a “welcome home” from studying abroad in Scotland. They made large posters, printed American flags and wrote a sweet, long note on my dresser mirror with bright pink lipstick. After awhile, I decided it was time to clean the mirror. Figuring I was capable of cleaning a mirror, I spayed the Windex and got the paper towel. Unfortunately, the lipstick just smeared all over. It was an absolute mess! I used a ton of Windex and there was a small heap of completely pink paper towels on the ground. It took twenty minutes of digging my nails into the paper towel to scrape the lipstick off.By Lexi Cole
“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”
Joshua 1:9
As I thought about my pink-covered mirror, I thought about the mess that comes with doing life - - the struggles, pain and trials. Because we live in a sin-filled world, sometimes our mess is sin and sometimes it is circumstance. Regardless of how the mess came about, we find ourselves struggling to clean or work through it.
One thing I love about our God is how He used people for His Kingdom in the midst of the mess. In the Old Testament, Abraham’s mess was because of sin: choosing his way rather than God’s. But God used him to be the father of His nation. In the New Testament, Paul chose to speak God’s Word even when it was dangerous: a mess that was because of his obedience. But God used that pain and suffering to advance His gospel.
In the same way, God uses our lives for His kingdom, despite our mess. Though the mess can be large and takes hard work to persevere through, we serve a God who doesn’t require us to be perfect before doing His work. Instead, He partners alongside us in our journey. God uses imperfect people for His perfect will; people who are still working hard to “clean the mess off the mirror.” What an amazing comfort that is! Rather than waiting for us to handle the mess on our own and then do His will, He is with us in our mess - - to comfort, protect and guide us. We are not alone, no matter the mess we find ourselves in! We have a God who is able to do more than we could hope or imagine because He partners in our journey and uses us…pink-lipstick-on-the-mirror mess and all.
GOING DEEPER:
1. Identify some of the mess in your life and surrender it to God.
2. What are some things the Holy Spirit could be leading you to actively do for His Kingdom?
FURTHER READING:
Psalm 23; Matthew 28:20
Lexi is an Elementary Education major at Bethel University. The last two summers, she’s been the Children’s Ministries intern at Oakwood.
