When I was a little boy, I hated going to the dentist. I don’t like needles, and I’m not extremely
fond of pain. I was always grateful to
have very few cavities, and was grateful when I got a good report. Early in my life, our family dentist in
Chateaugay, New York discovered that I was missing several teeth since birth. He pulled ten of my baby teeth and suggested
I get braces, and then be fitted for partial plates. Needless to say, I wore braces for 6
years. We were waiting for two permanent
teeth (something I had precious few of) to arrive. That journey took me from the end of fourth
grade through the end of tenth. I was
thrilled to go to school as an 11th grader with no more braces and a
full mouth of teeth with my new temporary partials.
By college I upgraded to a more permanent set. I’ve continued to do well up to this day, but
all that changed two days before my sons wedding. I discovered I had a serious issue with a
back tooth. I went to my current dentist
and learned that tooth would soon be history.
Gratefully, I made it through the wedding and vacation with no real
issues. My dentist recommended a mutual
friend, that he knew I would know and suggested I see him soon for my current
needs. I had that visit this week. I discovered my mouth is a mess. Two hot fires had to be put out soon, and
other issues addressed.
I’ve been preaching through the book of Ruth, and my message
on August 15-16 was entitled ‘God Is Always Ahead of You’. I seldom preach that God doesn’t allow me to
live through my message in some fashion.
This week, I discovered he was truly ahead of me again. As I sat in a consult room and looked at
x-rays and pictures of my teeth, a rush of memories of the issues I’ve had
flooded my mind and heart. At the same
time, I was filled with gratitude knowing that for this season I was exactly
where I needed to be. A brother in the
Lord, who has a set of gifts I need right now, was coaching me through my next
moves to fix my mouth.
In the last 30 hours we got two fires put out. He referred me to an endodontist who gave me
my first ever root canal, and helped save a tooth. Then this morning I went to an oral surgeon
who extracted the tooth that had broken a month ago. There was no saving that one! Tonight I’m sore, but extremely
grateful. The Lord is always
faithful. He’s been ahead of me
again. The Lord is so personal, and I
encourage you to know Him that way by surrendering your life to Him, and thank
Him for His amazing faithfulness.
While I have physical issues with my mouth, the Bible also
talks about the dangers of our speech.
Psalm 141:3 says ‘Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth; keep watch over
the door of my lips!’ Ephesians 4:29
says, ‘Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good
for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who
hear.’ Psalm 19:14 says, ‘Let the words
of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sigh, O LORD,
my rock and my redeemer.’
Tonight, I am reflecting on the craziness of this week. I didn’t know how much trouble I was in
physically. My mouth needed serious attention. That transformation has begun in the early
stages. I’m also finding myself
amazingly grateful for the gifts and abilities God gives people to work on
those issues. I am also reflecting that
while my mouth is being fixed physically, I want it to also be healthy
spiritually, and my words be honoring to God and encouraging to others. So I leave you with one question. How’s your mouth?
