How many of you know that when the Lord is calling you to do something, even when it seems like such a little thing, you need to do it? I recently had a situation arise that challenged me with the verse in James 5:16. “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” God had laid on my heart a specific person to go and seek forgiveness from for the attitude of my heart and I had put it off for several days. I really didn’t want to seek forgiveness, mainly because in my mind the very person God had asked me to seek forgiveness from, I felt was just as guilty as I was. So in my pride, I pushed it aside, thinking that maybe this person would realize what they were doing and be the more humble person in the situation. That never happened. God would not allow me to walk away from the responsibility He had placed in my lap. As the days went by the nudges kept coming. And finally, Sunday morning rolled around. The very first verse that was mentioned that morning was James 5:16. I always find it interesting how God uses others to seal the deal once and for all about my obedience. In that moment, I knew I could not fight the gentle hand of the Lord any longer. I knew if I continued in my disobedience the consequences would not be favorable for myself or the other person involved.
As humbly and gently as I knew how, I approached this person and asked for forgiveness. I shared with them that my heart had not been right towards them and that that I had not been treating them with kindness. My heart was laid bare and broken before them. Let me just say, when God leads you to do something you will be amazed by the outcome! Psalms 51:17 tells us that. God will not despise a broken and contrite heart. He certainly does not! He loves and adores a humble, broken and apologetic heart. That is the very key to the kingdom. It was Christ’s broken and contrite heart that allowed Him to lay down His very life so we could live. Without Christ’s humble spirit we could never experience forgiveness of our sins nor could we experience eternity with our Heavenly Father. Such a beautiful example God has given us through His Son for us to follow. And when we are obedient to do so, the doors of heaven will open up.
As humbly and gently as I knew how, I approached this person and asked for forgiveness. I shared with them that my heart had not been right towards them and that that I had not been treating them with kindness. My heart was laid bare and broken before them. Let me just say, when God leads you to do something you will be amazed by the outcome! Psalms 51:17 tells us that. God will not despise a broken and contrite heart. He certainly does not! He loves and adores a humble, broken and apologetic heart. That is the very key to the kingdom. It was Christ’s broken and contrite heart that allowed Him to lay down His very life so we could live. Without Christ’s humble spirit we could never experience forgiveness of our sins nor could we experience eternity with our Heavenly Father. Such a beautiful example God has given us through His Son for us to follow. And when we are obedient to do so, the doors of heaven will open up.
The healing that took place in my heart from that experience was nothing short of a miracle. I had been experiencing so much strife and turmoil prior to that conversation. As I walked away from this conversation, my heart was filled with joy, and peace all because I finally chose to obey. When I opened my heart, the Lord poured in the oil of healing. That oil would not have come through any other avenue. This person not only received my broken heart well, but shared with me their heart as well. I had not wanted to open my heart to this person because of their unconfessed sin. God used the confession of my sin as a chance for this person to confess their own. This brought such a revelation to my spirit! How often do we get so caught up in pointing out the sins of others that we refuse to take care of the sins in our own lives?
Matthew 7:3-5 talks about this very concept. We want to pick out the sins of others when we have glaring sins of our very own that are in need of our attention. Jesus called those people a bunch of hypocrites. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want Christ labeling me as a hypocrite. My heart keeps me plenty busy with the entanglement of sins I find myself involved with. I certainly have no business getting even more entangled by the sins of others.
Matthew 7:3-5 talks about this very concept. We want to pick out the sins of others when we have glaring sins of our very own that are in need of our attention. Jesus called those people a bunch of hypocrites. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want Christ labeling me as a hypocrite. My heart keeps me plenty busy with the entanglement of sins I find myself involved with. I certainly have no business getting even more entangled by the sins of others.
Call to action
Do you find yourself quick to pick out the sins in others? Is God calling you to seek forgiveness from someone? Are you hearing a still small voice that is nudging you to do something and you’re resisting? If you can honestly answer “yes” to any of these questions or if you are feeling a stirring in your spirit, then run to our Heavenly Father. Seek clarity if needed, but most importantly, be obedient to His nudgings. Don’t put off His quiet gentle voice any longer. Simply obey. You will never regret obeying His voice. Our situations may not always turn out the way we hoped, but even in those instances, God’s ways are better than our ways.
Other posts aligning with this subject: What If?
Other posts aligning with this subject: What If?
Gracious Father, you know the inner workings of our hearts. You know what is best for us even when we do not know what is best for ourselves. I pray that as you call to us, we will be quick to listen and even more quick to obey. Help us not to push aside your gentle nudges, but to move forth with boldness and confidence in knowing that you have spoken to our hearts. Help us to remember that our obedience excites your heart. You get energized and captivated by our obedience. Lord, it is our desire to capture your heart and we know that we can do that by walking in obedience to that still small voice and those gentle nudges. We ask all these things in the precious name of Jesus Christ.
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