I - Intentions of your Heart

Often times people do or say things and we make assumptions as to why they have said or done what they have.  I suppose sometimes we will be right and sometimes (probably most times) we will be way off base.

It is only God who knows the true intentions of our hearts.  He knows what motivates us to do whatever it is we do.  I believe it is sometimes hard for us to figure out what our own intentions are.  We can think or believe we did or A or B because so-and-so hurt us, or we reacted in this fashion because we determine it to be righteous anger.  Maybe we can convince ourselves of our intentions or justify our behaviour but I think we truly are not very objective where our own hearts are concerned.

It is for this reason, I believe, David says for us to examine our own hearts:

• Psalm 26 v 2:  Examine me, O Lord, and try me;  Test my heart and my mind.
• Psalm 139 v 23-24:  (23) Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;  Test me and know my anxious thoughts; (24) And see if there is any wicked or hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way.
• 1 Corinth 11 v 31:  But if we evaluated and judged ourselves honestly [recognizing our shortcomings and correcting our behaviour], we would not be judged.

Even if we do not search out the intentions of our hearts honestly, God will.  Just because we can fool ourselves, we will not be able to fool God.  Being real with yourself about your intentions is humbling because I think much of what we do (I know this to be true of me) is reactive and not necessarily for right reasons.  My concern is primarily for my hurt feelings where I should be mature enough as a Christian for my concern to be for the other person and to consider, with grace and mercy, why that person is saying or doing what they are.

I think the solution is to ask the Lord daily to reveal the intentions of our hearts, so that we learn to not be fooled or ruled by our emotions.  The ideal situation is to examine one's heart before opening one's mouth.... (my goal indeed).

So, friends, let us like David, spend some reflective time examining our hearts' true intentions and walk more freely knowing we have placed heart health over emotional reactiveness.

God bless
Tracy

#wisdom  - What is the Lord teaching me here about wisdom?

I believe the Lord is showing me to dig a little deeper and figure out why I want to react in a certain way.  Is the reason genuine?  Or am I being fooled and ruled by my emotions?  it is always wisest to be honest with oneself about our heart's intentions because God is not fooled.

H - "HELP"

You know, sometimes a person just needs a little help, am I right?!

Lately an old sore (which I have discovered is not yet completely healed - far from it actually) has been festering and old hurts have been coming to the fore.  An event has kind of highlighted this hurt and has been keeping my mind busy with endless potential conversations in my head and "if this happens" or "when that happens" or "if they say or do this or that" and so it goes on and on and on...

And sometimes you just need to reach out for a little help.  Now I am fully convinced that reading God's word is the ultimate and best help available.  But even in His Word God says to seek good counsel....

Prov 24v6:  For by wise guidance you can wage your war, and in an abundance of [wise] counsellors there is victory and safety.

and 

Prov 15v22:  Without consultation and wise advice, plans are frustrated, but with many counsellors they are established and succeed.

So yesterday, as I was mulling this problem over AGAIN a person came to mind.  This person is someone I have never met but she has been instrumental in my walk through this hurt.  She is direct, firm, and honest and loves the Lord vigorously!  I knew she would encourage me, advise me or give me the kick in the pants I needed.  

And I was right.  I vented a little and she came back with honesty and put into words what I couldn't.  Also in chatting with her online her words helped me realize that I am still healing, and so my wound can be aggravated and that I have choices.  And of those choices, none are wrong, its more about pacing my actions with my healing if that makes sense.  

Right now, I cannot deal with the people who hurt my family.  I can however, pray for them.  That is a good choice.  In talking to her I realized that when I do pray for them, they have less affect on me and my hurt dissipates... Thus God's healing starts taking effect and I know the time will come when I will see them, and hear from them, and I won't feel this hurt in me anymore.  I will only feel compassion for them.  I'm not quite there yet, but I am getting there...

I am so grateful to the Lord for this lovely woman.  I cannot wait for the day I get to meet her.  She rocks.  Her name is Jerri, and you will find her blog HERE.

My encouragement to you is twofold. Firstly, read the Word.  God directs and guides and sometimes it is in the obedience of reading His word that you start to change, or those around you start to change, or your circumstances change.  His word is alive and powerful.  

Secondly, God's word also directs us to get good counsel.  Do that!  But make sure you are seeking counsel from someone who loves God and who seeks to do His will.  Someone who will not take your hurts and jump all over them, but someone who with the Lord's guidance, will encourage and advise you wisely.  Check their advice against God's word as a double check (His word says so) and if their advice does not contradict God's word, go with it!

Psalm 119v105:  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

God bless

Tracy

#wisdom  - What is the Lord teaching me here about wisdom?

I believe the Lord is showing me that reaching out to someone for help is not only a good thing, but also biblical.  The thing though, is to seek the "right" help.  Choose who you seek out wisely.  Make sure it is someone who loves the Lord and whose advice is consistent with His Word.  

G - Gratitude

I have found in my life that when I get to an emotional crossroads, I'm either going to crack, like a dropped egg!!!!  Or, I need to do something to turn the tide of negativity and potential depression.  Its in these times that I have learnt to just start counting my blessings, one by one...

I get a pen and paper, cup of tea (of course) and I start listing the things I am grateful for.  It depends on how long I have let the emotional seesaw go, on how long the list takes.  Sometimes its all I can do to find 3 or 4, but soon your mind bends round to thankfulness and the list grows.  Slowly at first...

I find the next morning, tea in hand, I already have a few things to add to the list before I sit down, and the next morning, more....  And so my mind starts to operate more in gratitude than in negativity.

Now it may seem like a very simple and wasteful activity.  But I have truly found that I start to react more positively in the day.  People don't wind me up as much, my patience peeps out from under all that reactive behaviour and I look for opportunities to encourage others.  Flowers look brighter, sky-art catches my eye, and I start to look outward instead of inward.

Psalm 118v24:  This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.  

Psalm 136v1:  Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, and His steadfast love lasts forever.

What a great tool the Lord has given us to keep our minds and our hearts from being fractured by all that life can throw at us.

My encouragement to you today is no matter how you feel when you wake up, try to find something to be grateful for, then find another, and soon you start to see things more positively and you are able to encourage someone else who isn't able to yet.

God bless
Tracy

#wisdom  - What is the Lord teaching me here about wisdom?

I believe the Lord is showing me that gratitude is a tool He has given us to cope with our day to day lives.  Gratitude changes our minds from negative to positive and we become someone the Lord can use to help someone else.