All High and Mighty Now???
"Girl come on! Let's go to the club”.
Nah
girl, I’m good. Clubs ain’t my thing no more."
"Girl I can't stand my boss, he makes
me so sick!”
Girl
you need to be grateful for the job that you got. You know God gave it to
you. Plus, it could be worse, you could have NO job."
"Girl I'm so worn out praying for this
chick. She so stuck in herself, she ain't ever going to act right!
Girl I'm pretty sure someone was saying
the same thing about you before you got delivered but they didn't stop praying
for you did they?"
Romans
12:3 NLT
Because of the privilege and
authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you
are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves,
measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us.
Matthew
18:3
Shouldn’t
you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’
Hey Family,
These things all used to
be me. And sometimes I forget, I’m not but a whisper away from it again. I'm
very aware that I am still a work in progress. I won't ever be perfect because
there's only One who ever was and ever will be perfect. I remember a sister of
mine tell me a year ago that she had just sat and listened to a lady that
was just so negative about things going on. She told me that after
"correcting" her 3 times she just got tired of trying to explain the
goodness of the situation to her and just walked away. I had to remind her
that some people just have a negative spirit and all you can do is pray them
out of it or through it. I felt that I needed to remind her that it
wasn't too long before that, that she was that very same negative person and
there were a few people that did not stop praying for her because that's all we
could do.
I remember not wanting her
to feel condemned about how she reacted to that woman. So I had to tell
her a story of something that I happen to go through from time to time.
Because, I too, am not perfect.
One day I was outside with
my husband and one of my daughters and I noticed a neighbor across the street
come out of her house and cuss her teenage son up and down as he walked away.
She was cursing him out so bad that I felt like she was cursing ME out and I needed to go hide. I felt like I was in trouble and all I could do was sit and listen to it
because I felt like I deserved it and that I must have done something
wrong.
After a few more moments I
just wanted to cry because I felt so bad for that teenage boy. I mean, I believe
he was only about 14 or 15. And no matter what he did, it just didn't seem
possible for me to understand how someone can get cussed out in that manner,
outside and so harshly and so deeply and more importantly by their own
mother.
A few moments later I was
walking around in our driveway and my husband noticed me with tears
welled up in my eyes and he asked me what was wrong. The Holy Spirit
brought back to my remembrance that I used to cuss my own son and my own
daughter out also. I looked at him and just asked "Did I sound like
that when I was cussing out the kids before I finally got myself
together?" He paused then looked at me and gave me a very firm
"Yes.". It took all of the strength that I had in me to keep myself
from screaming at the top of my lungs "FORGIVE ME GOD!!!!!!! FORGIVE ME
KIDS!!!!!!". It was a shock for me to hear it all, and know that it used
to be me. I just couldn't fathom that I truly sounded “THAT bad”. I
went inside the house and I just cried and repented and prayed and cried and
repented and prayed and cried and repented and prayed, until I felt a calm come
over me. That's when I knew that God heard me and I believe He gave
me the peace I needed.
When I told my friend
about this experience that I had, she completely understood everything and was
not offended by my need to remind her of who she used to be and how there were
people that prayed for her along the way. Just so that she could get to a place
where she could truly get before God and have that single encounter that would
change her life. And I’m happy to say that she did eventually get that
wonderful encounter not too long after that.
Sometimes after salvation
the behavior that you cannot stand the most, is the same one that before your salvation was
the strongest in you. Just remember when you are about to look down, or ignore,
or use "justifiable reasons" to not pray for someone cause of
something you don't like, remember that YOU weren't born saved either. YOU had
a process that you had to go through too. And sometimes, just sometimes, that
thing you can't stand about that other person was the same thing you struggled
with for so long.
I pray that you don't ever
think that after you have been delivered, that you are a step above anyone else.
It’s actually really easy to remain humble in this. Just ask yourself “What
would I do if there was a bottle of Hennessey or Rum or your preferred drink in
your house? Would I have “just a little bit”? Or would I reject it? Would I
struggle to decide?” Sometimes it’s not that apparent of a question. Sometimes
the question you need to ask yourself is “What would I do if the girls from
college have a get together and I go and they are all having a good time having
their drinks, fussing, cussing, and having a good time. I know I won’t drink,
that’s easy for me, but will I accidentally drop an S-bomb? Or a F- bomb?” My
challenge may not be your challenge. And your challenge may not be the next
person’s challenge. But your challenge is yours. And you must remember that it
was always your challenge, and it can also become your challenge again.
Always Have Mercy.....
That used to be you...........
I love
you all… Be Blessed.
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