Over the last several weeks, God has been moving me in ways I have never experienced. Sure, I’ve been moved a ton over the years and that movement has affected how I communicate, how I treat others, how I speak to others, what I say, etc.
Something I thought was odd, but assumed I could handle it and control it, and in God’s time, I would change, was how I THOUGHT about other people. Yeah, I communicate better and what comes out of my mouth is much different then it would have been years ago, but my thoughts are quite different.
Just as I had always been, before accepting Christ, my mind focuses on the worst things I can find about a person. And once I find them, my mind doesn’t move. I either focus on the negative things that bother me or I sought out some other imperfection.
But lately, the most stressful times of my week, I have noticed, are not so stressful anymore. For instance, choir and praise team practice. It seems like I had been putting on an act from day one cuz I certainly didn’t like these people, let alone love them as I should.
Then, the other night, at our weekly worship gathering with the youth, something slapped me in the face. After the youth pastor’s message, we split the kids up in groups to talk/pray about some things they may need to give up that is holding them back from fully living for Christ. Someone mentioned cursing, another mentioned telling rude jokes. I’m not sure how it got back around to me, but I told them, “listen, when we’re talking about the Word of God, we’re not talking about a “suggested” way of living. These are commands from God….This isn’t optional.” No sooner then those words came out of my mouth and God put this scripture in my mind:
I am disgusted with my life. Let me complain freely. My bitter soul must complain. Job 10:1
The very thing that had me judging others was the years of being unsatisfied with my own life and it’s simply much easier to point out the imperfections of others rather then point the finger at myself. I was not, at all, practicing what I was preaching. I treated God’s word as something to “refer to” when I felt like it; not as commands on how to live my life.
This whole episode just brought about a lot of reflection. I thought, “man God, I was feeling like progress was being made. I felt like things were going pretty good; things were improving.” Well, that’s the point. Without me noticing, I have been moved. I have taken a new approach to, not only my interaction with others, but my thoughts of others also. I’m no longer judging; I’m no longer complaining. I am, slowly, but surely, again, in God’s time, becoming who He intended me to be.
I won’t get into them all right now, but specifically with the praise team and choir, I feel like I’m meeting these people I interact with all over again. It’s hard to fathom for me, and may be for you too, but those negatvie thoughts are gone. I see so much good in all of them. The problems, the lack of this or that, simply is not in my mind anymore. I’m there to praise Jesus and I’m put there with a bunch of other people doing the same thing. While there may be things that creep in my mind somewhere down the road, I now know the tools to fight them with. They were always there, as He has always been, but I’m no longer ignoring them. While we all will bring our own baggage, it’s not my job to find it, focus on it or fix it.
I wanted to use this post to thank God! Thank You for moving me. Thank You for aligning my focus on You and how You would live. Thank You!
When we judge others, even if just in thought, we’re one step closer to self-righteousness. When we keep tabs on how WE have been mistreated and how unfair life is to US and always seem to be saying, “Look what happened to ME,” we’re missing the point. You may even feel like blaming God, but just remember that whatever happens to you, whether allowed by God or sent by God, can be the means for development and refinement. When faced in these situations, maybe we should ask, “how can I learn or grow from this person” instead of “look how what this person is doing affects ME.”
Again and again, thank You Jesus!
