Radioactive Jam and I have been discussing my recent blogging blunder and when I asked for prayer, he responded so well.
Those times when the way forward is way hard?
Yeah…
“That when he had failed in his duty, he only confessed his fault,
saying to God, I shall never do otherwise, if You leave me to myself;
’tis You must hinder my falling, and mend what is amiss. That after
this, he gave himself no further uneasiness about it.” — Brother
Lawrence, “The Practice Of The Presence of God“
My wife, PhotoJulia also had some encouraging words to share. She emailed me Psalm 25 and then wrote a post inspired by those words.
…I know I can be hard on myself and that is another good reason why I love this scripture. ?Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.? Yes, I am a sinner! I admit it! However, I can rest in knowing that HE will instruct me in HIS ways and in the way chosen for ME. This takes such a burden off of me because as I continue to trust in God?s will, I start seeing his plan unfolding rather than my own destructive ones and I am draw to them….
I’m also reminded of Paul David Tripp’s book, War of Words, where he reminds us that “No matter where you live, no matter what you do every day, there is one thing that you do all day long. You talk.” What sets this book apart from others on the same topic is its profound depth in addressing the issues of our words. “Our communication struggle is not primarily a struggle of technique, but a struggle of the heart”. Tripp doesn’t settle for superficial treatment. He understands that the war of words is really part of a deeper war: the war for our hearts and souls, the war between the Word made flesh, and the enemy, whose primary tools are words of distortion, deception, and destruction.
How often do we treat people as irritants and obstacles? How frequently do we lash out against them in anger because they stand in the way of our plans of momentary happiness? How often do we complain to others about their actions, reactions and words? – p.81
Whatever or whoever rules our hearts will control the words we speak. The clear message of scripture is that we are called to speak out of a thankful heart of submission to God, in every circumstance and situation. p. 82
God is focused not only on the momentary solution to our problems but on the long-term change of heart. He wants to recapture the hearts of his people so that they will serve Him alone (Ezek. 14:1-6). To accomplish this, He is willing to sacrifice our personal comfort. p.112
