WEDNESDAY'S WORD - SWISS ARMY KNIFE - 11/6/19 Sadell Bradley

"Sleep is the Swiss army knife of health. When sleep is deficient, there is sickness and disease. And when sleep is abundant, there is vitality and health." - Matthew Walker - English Scientist     When asked the question, "What object most represents you?" My answer was a SWISS ARMY KNIFE - a penknife that incorporates several blades and other tools such as scissors and screwdrivers.  The knife was first produced in 1891 for military officers in Switzerland. It brings to mind versatility and problem-solving. The knife can be used in all kinds of circumstances and the phrase is a metaphor for usefulness and adaptability. I often find myself in odd situations that call for the use of different aspects of my past experiences, personality, and gifts. In some instances, administration or strategic thought is required, in another teaching, and in still other musical gifts are the doorway. Some people engage me because I'm African-American, others because I'm a woman...etc. You get the gist.   It is my hope that God will use all that I am for His purpose. That desire puts me in some strange situations both in the church and out in the 'real world.' I'm often in awe of the rooms in which I find myself and the people whom the LORD has me encounter. Effective Christ-following requires a great deal of pliability - the ability to bend when necessary. Our lives our not our own, Paul says, we've been bought with a price. Therefore we are to glorify God in our body and in our spirit, because they belong to Him. (1 Cor. 6:19-20)   Paul should know because God used every part of who he for His service: his training as a Pharisee, his intellectual prowess, his zeal and boldness, the grace on his life to endure, his writing ability, his apostolic gifts and even his Roman citizenship were all called upon by the LORD for His sundry purposes. It was this Apostle who said:     "19Though I am free of obligation to anyone, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), to win those under the law. 21To those without the law I became like one without the law (though I am not outside the law of God but am under the law of Christ), to win those without the law. 22To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, so that I may share in its blessings." (1 Cor. 9:19-22)        Sometimes God is looking for Swiss Army Knives.