Category: Whispers (Page 77 of 171)

  It’s important to be honest with ourselves and tell God how we really feel, for it is no secret with Him. We might end up saying, “God, right now I wonder if you really care for me and why this is happening to me!” Or we might also confess to a trusted spiritual friend that we are struggling in our faith or that we are dealing with a pride issue or whatever is going on in our hearts. As we are vulnerable and honest, the Holy Spirit is at work and we will recognize our need for grace. When I think about it, as Christians we are just people helping point others to His grace and to receive His mercy. We should not be shocked for if we are honest, those very things we see in others are also stuck in our own hearts.

  Every day it is good to ask the Holy Spirit to show us our hearts, especially those parts that need to come into the light. If we are to be honest and not hiding from ourselves or others, we can admit our sin areas of pride, anger, unforgiving attitudes etc. Of course, our own pride doesn’t want us to focus on our own sinfulness, but rather the sins of others. Inward pride may be harder to deal with for if we do something outward for all to see, we can more easily admit our failure. But secret hidden sins seem to grow in the shadows and how much better if we confess them to the Lord or another close Christian. Maybe there is envy as we want what others have and think God is holding out on us; or maybe there is jealousy, malice, anger, greed or resentment. We may struggle more with anger and for someone else it may be jealousy but whatever it is, we need to spend time before the Lord and ask for help to face those things that hinder our closeness to Him. Like it says in I John 1:9 (Message), “On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—He won’t let us down; He’ll be true to Himself. He’ll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing.”

 For example, there are many personality type classifications that we have studied to show we all have strengths but also weaknesses. When we see others from their different vantage point, it gives us more compassion and openness to receive them and the gifts God has put into them. A very old personality theory Hippocrates made popular was on the 4 temperaments, of which all of them are present in our family. Briefly the Sanguine is described as cheerful and manic, the choleric rather angry and irritable, the melancholic as depressive, and the phlegmatic as rather calm. You may also know the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as it is often used in the work world and has 16 categories. But each personality type gives us a peek into the inner lives of others that may be quite different from ours. Each type also has sin patterns that we struggle with, but might not be quite the same as another type personalities. We were never intended to be just like someone else but rather to become just who the Lord had in mind when we were created.