Isaiah 41:5-7 English Standard Version

⁵ The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come. ⁶ Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, “Be strong!” ⁷ The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, “It is good”; and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved.

The advice yesterday came without supporting scripture. That was a matter of personal experience, from both sides of choking.

With this opening verse please understand that the desire to help a friend does not mean we are a craftsman that is equipped to handle every situation. Just saying “be strong” does not always give those in trouble what they need. We should have someone within our sphere of influence that has the skills to craft a better answer.

Do not try to be the hero. A drowning victim will take down the hero if the wrong approach is used.

A dear friend has written in the past about being a tool for God. Sometimes we are the hammer, sometimes the anvil.

We are not the craftsman. God has crafted us. The goldsmith is only one title used to exemplify the value of what is being worked in us. My friend is not a goldsmith, he is a wordsmith. His computer is his tool.

Soldering is a bonding operation. Solder is not a tool, it is an element. Nails are not tools, they are implements. How we see ourselves being used of God defines how we act.

See yourself as a nail and you have pierced others. Nails were used to pierce Christ to the Cross.

Some see nails as our sins that nailed Christ to the Cross.

If that image will help us to avoid sin, then it has some value.

Just remember it is the craftsman that strengthens us. He is God.

We left off yesterday with the poor imagery of choking on what a pastor might say to some who have not matured enough to digest the spiritual word being given in the sermon. This is the International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia’s comment on choking.

Figurative: It is used in the sense of “to strangle” “smother,” “suffocate,” as if by depriving of breath, in describing the fate of the young grain growing in the midst of thorns (Matthew 13:7). The figurative is carried a little farther still in describing the way the word, planted in the heart, is overcome by the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches (Matthew 13:22).

Key in our understanding is the issue of the breath of God is being deprived which in this case is the Holy Spirit being withheld for that individual.

Let us be patient with those that choke on the Word, it is not within their control.

Romans 12:10-11 English Standard Version

¹⁰ Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. ¹¹ Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.

The fact that we even notice may be a sign from God to render aid.

One line of Romans 12:10 is stricken out but not omitted. We honor one another by loving one another but this is not a competition. We do what we can because we can.

I understand this is not something we talk about often. Just because it is uncomfortable does not mean we should withhold a word that might help, even if it is only one person one time in our lives.

Situational awareness is also the purview of God.