From experience to experience

“And has not been emptied [poured] from vessel to vessel.” Jer 48:11 NKJV

Poured from experience to experience

God said, “Moab has been at ease from his youth; he has settled on his dregs, and has not been emptied [poured] from vessel to vessel…Therefore his taste remained in him, and his scent [aroma] has not changed.”

This Scripture paints two pictures for us; one is natural and the other is spiritual.

In the natural picture, we see how wine is made by being poured from one vessel into another.

In the spiritual picture, we see how God changes us by pouring us from one experience into another.

And just as in winemaking, when the wine is poured out of one vessel into another, it leaves behind the dregs which must be removed in order to produce good vintage.

Similarly, God will permit you to be poured into situations that reveal your weaknesses so that you can allow Him to work on them.

And no matter how uncomfortable it is or how badly you want to escape, God won’t let you until your issues have been dealt with successfully.

How will you know when that’s so? - Because as you enter your next experience, you will leave them behind you.

In the winemaking process, the wine doesn’t spend the same amount of time in each vessel.

That’s because each vessel serves a different purpose.

Only the winemaker knows the purpose of each vessel, and therefore determines the amount of time needed in it.

If you’re being poured from one experience into another, read this:

“Being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Php 1:6 NKJV).

“It is reported…that you.” Neh 6:6 NKJV

What are they saying about you?

To prevent Nehemiah from rebuilding Jerusalem’s walls, his enemies spread rumors about him.

“It is reported among the nations, and Geshem says, that you and the Jews plan to rebel; therefore, according to these rumors, you are rebuilding the wall, that you may be their king” (v. 6 NKJV).

Now, you can’t control what people think, or keep them from saying it, but you can determine your response.

Nehemiah did: “I sent messengers to them, saying, ‘I am doing a great work, so that I cannot come down. Why should the work cease while I leave it and go down to you?’

But they sent me this message four times, and I answered them in the same manner” (vv. 3-4 NKJV).

This story teaches you three important principles:

(1) Refuse to give more attention to a critic than you would to a friend. To Nehemiah, the people who mattered were those who were for him rather than those against him. So instead of trying to change minds, he changed gears and moved forward.

(2) Realize that with opportunity comes opposition. Paul wrote, “There is a wide-open door for a great work here, although many oppose me” (1Co 16:9 NLT).

Criticism is a sign of respect; if you weren’t succeeding, they wouldn’t even notice you.

(3) Remember that it’s the big battles that produce the big victories. - Satan won’t send you a congratulatory telegram because you have decided to do God’s will; he will fight you every step of the way.

But “greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world” (1Jn 4:4). Today God is on your side, so your victory is assured.