I wish I could say I have never gossiped but I can't. I had a relative who was known for being a gossip who knew everything about everyone who passed by their house. I never wanted to be like that. Instead of judging that person, I should have been praying for them, because to my own shame, I found myself listening and repeating gossip just as they had done. After one such time when I was caught up in something I had no part of, I was so grieved with disappointment, that I isolated myself from friends and family because I did not want to be tempted to listen to or repeat any form of gossip. I felt the less I knew, the better off I would be.
We gossip because it makes us feel important, we feel we are in the thick of things that are going on. Or sometimes if I was offended by someone I would rehearse their flaws or failures because it made me feel justified. I have gossiped because of Jealousy, foolishly thinking someone else's blessing has lessened God's supply of blessings for us.
I never thought about why we gossip until someone was hurt by my tale bearing. It gave me an all too clear understanding of how our words can wound someone.
So, learn from my mistakes, if someone comes to you with any information that does not involve you personally, suggest that before they say anything, they go to the person that offended them. We are to cover and honor those around us whether or not we feel they deserve it, just as God's grace covers us.
Be blessed by being a blessing today.
Thursday, December 10, 2015
A Time .... To Prune
There are times when you want to be free from where we are. You are ready to move on.
But sometimes, you are grounded where you are because God has some pruning to do in your life. He has to expose some unhealthy emotions so that you can deal with them and learn to control them so they won't get you in trouble for the next season.
We keep pushing on that door, begging God to open it and let us through, but God's time never expires, it is always perfect.
God has to fix the inside so that you won't be carrying around the baggage that would hinder you from doing what He has planned for you. He protects us from ourselves and from others that we could possible hurt if we were allowed to do something premature.
Trust Him. Know that He has your best interest at heart.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you, "says the Lord, plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope".
But sometimes, you are grounded where you are because God has some pruning to do in your life. He has to expose some unhealthy emotions so that you can deal with them and learn to control them so they won't get you in trouble for the next season.
We keep pushing on that door, begging God to open it and let us through, but God's time never expires, it is always perfect.
God has to fix the inside so that you won't be carrying around the baggage that would hinder you from doing what He has planned for you. He protects us from ourselves and from others that we could possible hurt if we were allowed to do something premature.
Trust Him. Know that He has your best interest at heart.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans and thoughts that I have for you, "says the Lord, plans for peace and well-being and not for disaster to give you a future and a hope".
Friday, December 4, 2015
Some Things God Cannot Do
A parent never likes to see their child sad or hurting. But sometimes life happens and we are helpless.
My daughter has been struggling with being single. Some days she really gets discouraged. And lonely. On these days I try to offer encouragement, but it doesn't give her what she is needing, which is a solution to her problem, so it is not well received. I try to inspire her by reminding her of all the blessings in her life: her job, her church, her family, or relate how other people struggle in their relationships and it would be better to be single than to be in some relationship that is abusive or without love. None of these provide the answer she is looking for.
I thought about how we do that to God too. We have a problem that we can't solve and we need an answer, so we call on God and when he does not give us the answer we are looking for, or no answer at all, we become inconsolable, sad and depressed. God tries to remind us of all the good He has done in our life. He brings to our mind all of the bad that He has kept us from. Instead of being grateful, we stay depressed, worried or discouraged and fail to see all of the things he has blessed us with. He must think, "How ungrateful my child is being". I can imagine we hurt his feelings too.
I wanted to help my daughter. I wanted to give her the answer. But there are some things I cannot do.
Just like God.
There are some things that God cannot do.
My daughter has been struggling with being single. Some days she really gets discouraged. And lonely. On these days I try to offer encouragement, but it doesn't give her what she is needing, which is a solution to her problem, so it is not well received. I try to inspire her by reminding her of all the blessings in her life: her job, her church, her family, or relate how other people struggle in their relationships and it would be better to be single than to be in some relationship that is abusive or without love. None of these provide the answer she is looking for.
I thought about how we do that to God too. We have a problem that we can't solve and we need an answer, so we call on God and when he does not give us the answer we are looking for, or no answer at all, we become inconsolable, sad and depressed. God tries to remind us of all the good He has done in our life. He brings to our mind all of the bad that He has kept us from. Instead of being grateful, we stay depressed, worried or discouraged and fail to see all of the things he has blessed us with. He must think, "How ungrateful my child is being". I can imagine we hurt his feelings too.
I wanted to help my daughter. I wanted to give her the answer. But there are some things I cannot do.
Just like God.
There are some things that God cannot do.
- God can't break a promise.
My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips.
—Psalm 89:34 - God can't remember sins he's chosen to forget.
I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake; and I will not remember your sins.
—Isaiah 43:25 - God can't make a loser.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ.
—2 Corinthians 2:14 - God can't abandon you.
Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, he is the one who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.
—Deuteronomy 31:6 - God can't stop thinking about you.
How precious also are your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them! If I should count them, they would be more in number than the sand; when I awake, I am still with you.
—Psalm 139:17-18 - God can't stop loving you.
Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
—Jeremiah 31:3
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