What’s your answer to that question? Mine is: ‘yes’. I was just there two weeks ago, yesterday and I have another appointment scheduled next week. In case you’re wondering…no I don’t like going to the dentist – honestly it’s one of the things in life I like the least. I always dread it and can’t wait for it to be over. Interestingly, God used this situation that I strongly dislike to speak some very clear truth into my life – another parallel, He just loves speaking to me in parallels.
Two weeks ago I’m sitting in the dentist chair having my teeth cleaned which I don’t mind too much now that I get the ‘baking soda sand blast’, as I call it instead, of the nasty flavored, gritty, gross toothpaste they used to use to clean my teeth. They of course wanted to do x-rays and they pick and pry to see if there is any decay able to be found. Wouldn’t ya know it…they found 2 areas of decay?! This isn’t uncommon for me, I’ve had ‘soft’ teeth every since I was a young child and have had many cavities filled.
As the dentist told me that I have to come back to have those areas taken care of God plopped this parallel into my head and my heart. Lately God has really had me walking a journey of cleaning up areas of my life and my heart, revealing areas in me that need changed and transformed. This is what the dentist does – he cleans our teeth and in the cleaning process locates any areas that we’ve failed to take care of which in turn has allowed decay and need his attention.
When the hygienist cleans my teeth she’s getting off all the goop and grime that has built up over the months since I last had her clean my teeth. This is exactly what God wants us to allow Him to do as Psalm 51:7 says – to clean up all the goop and grime that builds up in our lives. He wants to take it away, scrape it off so that we can shine brighter, be whiter, and be more like Him.
Once the teeth are clean the dentist then comes in to look over the x-rays and examine the teeth, looking for decay or any other concerns. It’s important that he looks closely and thoroughly. If he misses something that will allow the area of decay to get even worse this will make it harder and more painful to correct later. The same is true with our Jesus – He wants us to allow Him to look into the areas of our live and point out the decay, or the sin (Psalm 139:23-24). The areas that we’ve allowed the goop and grime to turn into a bigger issue – an issue that is destroying areas of our life.
And what did the dentist do yesterday when I went in to have my first area of decay taken care of? Well, let’s just say it isn’t a pleasant visit when it’s time to have the decay repaired but it’s necessary. He first starts by jabbing me with a needle – twice. OUCH! But the needle is also important, it prevents me from feeling the more intense pain of the drilling and filling process. The small pain is worth it as it covers up the larger pain.
When God locates an area of decay in our lives and we allow Him to be the dentist and remove it – drill it out – it does hurt, but the small pain of surrender and obedience to Him in that situation will prevent a lot of more intense pain down the road. Yes, it’s painful and uncomfortable, but it’s so very worth it and necessary if we want to live a life that exemplifies our Savior.
Once the dentist drills the decay out he isn’t done – there’s a very important step that follows – he fills it with something pure, healthy, sanitary, and protective (1 John 1:9). This is exactly what God does – He replaces that area of sin with more of Himself – pure, spiritually healthy, and full of life instead of death.
If we choose to not go to our spiritual dentist, God, then those areas of decay will destroy our lives – just like physical decay destroys the teeth. And it leaves us useless in serving Him – just like someone without teeth can’t chew or talk properly because they’ve allowed the decay to destroy the needed tools for those tasks.
God wants us to come to His dental office, sit in His chair, allow Him to clean our teeth, allow Him to take x-rays to see into the deepest parts of our lives, locate any decay that may be present, and then purify that area of decay.
So when was the last time you visited your Dentist?
The Journey of a Princess Warrior 