"Mike, you have a big head!"

“Mike, you have a big head!”

This was what our daughter-in-law said to me when she and our son were home visiting.  They live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  Our son began laughing and leaned into his wife to explain that something was lost in translation.

“When you tell someone they ‘have a big head’ it means that are prideful or arrogant.”

Of course, I have to admit that sometimes I can be prideful or arrogant (If I fail to admit that it’s sometimes true, it would always be true!)

We all got a good laugh as she explained that the Brazilian “saying” she translated literally was a compliment that meant “you are very smart.”

We could laugh because I never thought she was trying to insult me.  I know her well enough.  And the comment didn’t come out of nowhere.  It came as we were all discussing an assignment I needed to complete for school with seemingly little time to do it.   It was obvious that she was trying to compliment and encourage me.

But I could have chosen to take it a different way.  I could have chosen to believe that she wanted to insult me, that she was that cruel of a person.  That I deserved it.

I wonder how many of us choose to look at our lives and the situations we go through and think, “God is mad at me.  He’s punishing me.  He is trying to insult me.”?

How many of us project a character onto Him that is nothing of Who He really is.

“I know the thoughts I think toward you saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not to harm you, to give you an expected end.” Jeremiah 29:11

“For God so loved the world…” John 3:16

“God is love.” 1 John 4:8

“…for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” Hebrews 13:5

“There is now therefore no condemnation for them which are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1

And the list can go on.

What we are able to receive from God has all to do with what we believe He would give us.  If it is not something that He would send… then we are receiving it from someone else.

If we believe that God is a punisher and a cruel judge waiting to condemn we will see whatever situation we are going through as His way of hurting us.

If we know Him as a loving Father Who has great plans for us and wants to bless us, One Whom we can trust always has out best interest in mind,  then we will see the very same situation as God perfecting us… as complimenting us.

The toughest jobs always go to the ones that are trusted most.  Because trust is moving forward with confidence and security in the ability of.

When He knows you will allow Him to live through you He trusts you with situations and challenges that seem impossible.

For He is able. (Ephesian 3:20)

That struggle… that frustration… that difficulty…

It’s not a curse… it’s a compliment.

And the appropriate response to a compliment is a “thank you.”

“In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 1 Thess. 5:18


SDG