I recently had an opportunity to act snippy or gracious. Unfortunately, I chose to act snippy. I immediately regretted my choice. Once words are released (whether in person, by text or email) you cannot take them back. The only thing that you can do is humble yourself and apologize. I wish I could tell you that the journey to be the person Jesus wants me to be is easy but it’s not. I continue to stumble, falter and fail. However, I believe with all my heart that He uses these situations to shake our pride and bring humility to the forefront. To serve Christ, we need to be humble. Pride is from the enemy.
Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. Ephesians 4:2-3
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Colossians 4:5
Have you ever stopped to think about choices? Life is determined by every choice we make. There’s not one aspect of life that is unaffected by choices. Where we work, what we eat, who we marry, how we allocate our resources, and on and on the list goes. Our Almighty Lord and Savior does not expect us to be perfect. He knows we’re going to make wrong decisions – especially when we are distant from Him and His powerful Spirit. I don’t know about how this makes others feel but I know I feel desolate when I’m outside of His protective arms. I feel out of control and truly wreckless. It doesn’t take me long to desperately seek Him in His Word and through prayer. I find myself being immediately drawn to Him when I feel separated. What a wonderful blessing that we have at our fingertips 24/7 – the God of the entire Universe is there for each of us individually. All we have to do is turn to Him and He’s there, in ALL HIS GLORY.
There are three positives that bad decisions provide us (ironically, if we choose to see these as such):
- an opportunity to pull closer to God for strength and support
- an opportunity to help others in the same struggles (from the perspective – been there, done that)
- an opportunity to show our children that we are human and we make mistakes and the difference is how you redeem yourself after a mistake is made
Thanks for being with me on another life lesson. I’m going to add to my prayer list the following:
Dear Father, Please guard not only my heart but also my mouth. Please be with each of us as we make choices – whether small or large. Help us to be tuned in to You always so that we can lean on You to help us consistently make right choices. However, if we falter and do not make the right choice, please help us to learn from the wrong choice. Help us to leave behind a few more crumbled remnants of pride as we move forward in our quest for goodness. I am forever grateful and in awe of Your Goodness, Your Grace and Your Greatness. In Jesus’ name, I pray. Amen.
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