Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16 ESV
We have all come across items that have failed to live up to their name or their claim.
Your car might not get the mileage the sticker said it would or the nutritious food bar you just ate may have had more sugar and processing in it than healthy nutrients. The product that was supposed to clean your clothes and leave a fragrant, refreshing smell, well, let’s just say you wanted to rewash them with a new and different detergent.
However, there is one product that lives up to its name, permanent markers. The dictionary defines permanent as enduring, not easily removed, or erased. Permanent markers live up to their name, their definition, and their claim.
If you want to write your name on the inside of a baseball hat or on the tag of a T-shirt, you are going to choose a permanent, indelible marker over sidewalk chalk. If you want to write your name on a plastic tote or casserole dish, you are going to choose a permanent marker over a pencil. If you are going to write your name on an aluminum ladder or a pair of vise grips, you are going to choose a permanent marker over a washable marker.
How I long for you and me to write His truths in our lives with permanent markers. How I long for those truths to be indelibly marked on our hearts and in our minds. His truth does not change. His Word is firmly fixed in the heavens (Psalm 119:89) and He does not lie or change His mind (Numbers 23:19, Hebrew 6:18.)
Fear will attempt to scrub away at the truth that we do not have to be afraid (Deuteronomy 31:6) but will give up quickly if trying to erase it takes too much effort. Fear will tag worry in to help with the scrubbing but they will both give up if the truth won’t even fade. You see, the enemy may prowl and roar like a lion snarling at our truth but he gives up easily when he knows the potential prey (us) are within our well-established, protected territory, His truth. The enemy prefers weak, easy, low-effort targets.
Guilt and shame might come like a steel wool pad to a frying pan, scourging at the permanent truths that we are forgiven and there is no condemnation for us (1 John 1:9, John 3:17, Romans 8:1) but find they are wasting their time and move off. Truth stays.
What truth does our loving and faithful Lord want to write in permanent marker on your life today? What falsehoods does He want to erase from your heart and mind? If we Listen, Apply and Make Permanent (LAMP) His truth in our lives, we will find ourselves shining brighter for His glory. Amen.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever. Isaiah 40:8 ESV
Father God, thank You for being permanent, thank You for being unchanging. Thank You for Your permanent love for us. Help us to keep writing Your permanent truths in our heart and minds that we live, think and operate by Your life-giving Word and not the falsehoods of our flesh or the world. In Your powerful, Name Jesus, we pray, amen.