Monday, October 22, 2012

31 Days to Seeing Through God's Eyes: Day 22-Wisdom, Emotion and Motives

OK Y'all. I did it. I jumped on the Guest Post bandwagon. I think this is normal in blog world I just never thought that anyone would want to guest post on my blog LOL. When I decided that I was going to ask, the first person that came to my mind was Ms. Sallie Arro. I had a chance to spend some time with her recently and let me tell you...that woman has some wisdom!

Here we are ladies...ain't we cute?? She is the one riding solo on the right :)
Enjoy what she has to say about wisdom, emotions and motives! Be prepared...it's a good one!! Take it away Ms. Sallie:

I wish I could remember who said the statement below because I would really like to give them credit. It has changed my thinking about myself and others a lot. It has also helped clarify why I need to keep snuggled up close to Holy Spirit.

“Since the fall, man’s wisdom is faulty, emotions are unreliable, motives are impure, and vision is limited."

The wonderful thing about coming to grips with all humans having faulty wisdom is it keeps me from putting others on too high a pedestal thinking that everything they say or write, is the be all and end all; and from being too hard on myself since I can’t know it all. I can relax and rejoice in what I do know and take advantage of what others have learned from their mistakes so I don’t have to go down the same road and get beat up by you know who. In James 1:5 we are told, “If anyone lacks wisdom, let them ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to them.” How cool is that? I don’t have to depend on the faulty wisdom of men when I’m in a jam, I can go to the God who created the universe and keeps it spinning and He will reveal everything I need to know and He won’t be upset because I asked. In fact, He wants me to.

Because we can’t rely on our emotions to lead us correctly all the time, it is good that God loved us so much He made provision for us to be able move toward the destiny He has planned for us. In Galatians 5:16, Paul admonishes us to, “Walk in the Spirit and we will not fulfill the lusts of the [emotional] flesh. God knows the awful things that lurk within the human heart and how easy it is for them to pop out before we even realize what we are saying. And sometimes when we do recognize it is just our ego [Edging God Out] wanting to prove a point. Holy Spirit knows how to stabilize our emotions so we don’t say or do things that would make the God we say we serve look bad.

For a long time, I tried to convince myself that although I recognized some of my motives were impure, I really did have some good motives once in a while. But the more the Scriptures and Holy Spirit revealed to me about Jesus and God’s love, the more I realized it was just a rationalization that was leakier than a sieve.

And as for limited vision, as I sometimes watched plans I had carefully constructed for success in various areas of my life next week, next year and in the years ahead crumble like sand castles hit by the incoming tide, I came to understand (and sometimes appreciate) I could not see very far past the end of my nose. If I can’t see clearly for my own life, I certainly can’t for others and need to be careful that I don’t fall into the trap of thinking I’m Holy Spirit Jr. and can straighten them out with my faulty wisdom.

Joyce Meyer points out God is not surprised or disturbed by all my failings and shortcomings. He knew what He was getting when He called me. On top of that He has a plan for me that will lead to abundant life now and forever. He has given some instructions about how I am to live, but even with those He reminds me in Philippians 1:6, “be confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.” and Philippians 2:13, “it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

So I can snuggle up with Holy Spirit and rest assured that as long as I keep my focus on the Lord and His Kingdom, He will take care of everything that concerns me. Easy to say, but the world, my flesh and the devil are arrayed against that plan. Yet God wins and so do I.

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