When We Fight to be Right, We Miss out on the Freedom that Comes from Righteous Correction

Being a parent of adult men is hard…far harder than parenting through the terrible twos! I know that I’m positioned to model what their future wife might look like, while also carefully sharing parental caution when I see it

There are moments when I need to strategically decide when it’s worth the cost of spending relational equity to offer what I see. I usually begin with a question, asking if I can share something from my perspective.

This is the case with a recent convo with my son. Even though he welcomed my thoughts, he immediately began telling me the why behind things.

I listened & then asked if I could offer one more tidbit that might not feel awesome to hear. He agreed with a sheepish smile & I replied,

“I want you to become the most amazing husband on the planet. Someday you’ll have a wife who’ll see things from a different perspective & that’s good! The two of you will become one, approaching the battles of life linked arm & arm. The blessing is that you each see things from a different angle so that helps you lead with an informed approach IF you’ll receive it. So when I offer a thought that might feel like correction, receive it as love knowing that I want the best for you & if it doesn’t resonate, brush it off, knowing that I offered because I love you!”

He thanked me for my thoughts & then said something that caught my attention. “I think I just want to make sure I’m doing the right thing…”

That word “right” has surfaced a LOT in my home recently & it carries a burden to know it all. David, however, has a different perspective in Psalm 141,

“Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Don’t let me refuse it.”

What a humble heart-stance, right?

When we fight to be right we miss out on the freedom that comes from righteous correction.

I don’t know about you, but I want to be told if I’m headed toward a cliff! Fighting to be right carries a competitive edge that restrains us from the freedom that comes with course correction.

Father, don’t let us refuse correction. Holy Spirit, help us receive it as soothing medicine. We don’t need to be right, but know we’ll be alright when we let You lead.

#OneYearBible

June 23rd One Year Bible Readings

2 KINGS 4:18-5:27

ACTS 15:1-35

PSALM 141:1-10

PROVERBS 17:23

Walking Through Trials? Are You Focusing on the Test or the Testimony That Follows?

When hard circumstances arise, it’s far easier to focus on the test before us rather than the testimony that will follow.

I recently heard a story of hardship & thought, “Wow! God must think this young gal worthy to entrust her with such suffering.” It seemed insensitive, but it was so the opposite! I had a sense that this hard thing could become a springboard to bear witness to the mighty hand of God if she would let it…& just a few days later, she did.

She sat in my home freely sharing personal stories of God’s faithfulness during the hard. You could almost hear a pin drop as she gave witness to God’s goodness to the peers who sat before her…

It’s so difficult AND important to remember that whether we intend to or not, we WILL testify to something on the other side of hard.

We cannot bear transformative testimony unless we bear the weight of the test.

Acts 14 tells us that in the past, God let nations go their own way, yet, He did not leave himself without witness. The wonders of creation bear witness to a Creator, so how much more might we?

It appears that our nation is “going it’s own way” on many levels & is in great need of witnesses!

If we know Jesus as Savior, then how might we let Him be Lord even amidst trials?  Peter tells us that the very genuineness of our faith will be tested by fire to show that it’s real.

Why? So we’d have a rock solid testimony that might be compelling enough to woo others to meet our Messiah!

Think about it:

“How can people call for help if they don’t know who to trust?

👉🏽& how can they know who to trust if they haven’t heard of the One who can be trusted?

👉🏽& how can they hear if nobody tells them?

👉🏽& how is anyone going to tell them, unless someone is sent to do it?” (Romans 10:14-17 MSG)

Father, send us! Deem us worthy of tests SO THAT we might build strong testimonies! We know we’ve a choice to let trials break or build our faith, so Holy Spirit, we ask You to comfort us through the test so we may focus on the testimony that will follow. Help us keep lock-step with our Lord, praising You even through the darkest valleys, so we may build a compelling case for the overwhelming evidence of our good God!

#OneYearBible

June 22nd One Year Bible Readings

2 KINGS 3:1-4:17

ACTS 14:8-28

PSALM 140:1-13

PROVERBS 17:22

God Never Changes, but His Word Changes Everything

I sat in on an interview recently that left me thinking for the remainder of the day. As the interview closed, the candidate poised a question that left the room silent with great anticipation of the coming answer:

If you could snap your fingers & immediately change one thing about the organization, what would it be?

I think to the degree that her question stunned us, the COO’s answer did the same. He said, “if I could change one thing, it would be that every resident would feel cared for.”

I think we all desire that - for us & for the people we love.

His answer surfaced again as I read David’s account of our omnipresent God who knows everything about us…& STILL pursues us with his unrelenting love!

If I could snap my fingers & change one thing in the lives of my loved ones, it would be for them to know to the deepest degree that God never changes, but His Word changes everything!

Ps. 139:23-24 has been the cornerstone of my daily time with Him & here’s why: it’s an open invitation to transparency & authenticity with The One Who knows it all anyway. It’s a welcoming for Him to dig deep & reveal the hidden things, not so much for HIM to know, but for me to see the things I keep locked away.

Life travels at lightning speed, words are spoken, actions are taken, & oftentimes we don’t have time to process it all. How things change, however, when we invite the Lord to search! He loves us SO much, that He’s just waiting for us to lay our hearts bare before Him so He can reveal & heal the hidden things!

I love to begin my day praying through the two verses, & letting the things that bubble up guide my heart like a treasure hunt searching for Truth as I read His Word.🤗

Search us, O God, dig deep into our hearts, touching us with your holy fire. Let any anxious thoughts rise to the surface so you can remedy them with Truth.

Point out anything in us that’s offensive to You - do we need to ask for or offer forgiveness? Do not let us deceive ourselves…

And lead us as Lord over every facet of our lives, along your path of everlasting life.

May we make time to sit & soak in Your love, & be transformed with the Healing balm of your Word!

#OneYearBible

June 21st One Year Bible Readings

2 KINGS 1:1-2:25

ACTS 13:42-14:7

PSALM 139:1-24

PROVERBS 17:19-21