Lord, what do I need today?
After a few seconds, Romans 6:13 came to mind. I opened my Bible right to that page.
Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.
For me, the first body part that came to mind was my mouth. It's so tempting for me to speak negatively about people and stuff that happens, or to complain when things don't go right.
That verse was the perfect help for me today. I am working in an office for the first time since last June. It feels so good to be back to a familiar place with people I know - I love my job and the people I work with.
But working in an office has its challenges. In that environment, opportunities to get caught up in the moment are plentiful. And I can be very quick to respond to whatever is going on - sometimes good, sometimes not so much. As the day went on, I indeed had many opportunities.
I received a call from my apartment complex, then launched into a complaint about someone there. I immediately saw the verse in my mind, so I added something positive and moved on.
Someone complained about a situation, and I started to join in...then the verse came to mind and I stopped short.
I heard a conversation about someone who left, and joined in before I could stop myself...then remembered the verse and walked away.
Sometimes I choked back the wrong words, sometimes they reflexively slipped out. All day, I battled over my words. And all day, the verse kept coming to my mind as a reminder.
How amazing is it that God gave me exactly what I needed to make me aware of, and help me change, a very bad habit?
Lord, thank you for giving me the correction I needed. Thank you for answering my prayer so faithfully.
May I never stop being amazed at the gracious care of my loving Daddy!
We were thinking along the same lines this week. This is the same topic I talked about today on Parting Words From The WORD! God must be trying to tell us something!
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe He is, Vonda! Your topic sounds interesting. And I'm about to post Part 2 now...which I received because He wasn't done speaking to me yet. Thank you for your comment!
DeleteHow often do we believers read something extra into His promise of asking and receiving. We usually tag on something like, ", as long as you are perfect when you ask." or ", when you finally become sinless." Of course, we can't accomplish either of these caveats, or any other we place on that passage. I often see Jesus waiting, heartbroken, for us to just ask. The only true caveat is we must ask, accepting that He will only fulfill those requests that don't violate His will for us.
ReplyDeleteYes, He is faithful to respond when we ask, seek, and knock. Then we need to buckle our seatbelts because His answers are often unexpected, but always perfect. Thank you for your comment, Bruce!
DeleteIt is wonderful when God gives you just the truth you need for that day. I have a more systematic way of reading but it's amazing how many times the perfect truth sticks in my mind to guide me through the day.
ReplyDeleteI tend to give God advice. "Please answer my prayer, and here's how I want You to do it." I know He waits to answer until I stop declaring my will and surrender to His.
LOL - I've prayed many prayers like that, Sherry! And He stays silent, waiting for me to be willing to receive the answer He knows I need. I'm so glad I heard Him - stay tuned for Part 2! Thank you for your comment!
DeleteWhat a great example of how the Holy Spirit works in our thinking as he brings transformation. I have been praying about an area of my life that needs a little (or a lot) of transforming power. I'm excited to see how the Spirit is going to work in my daily thoughts.
ReplyDeleteYes, it IS exciting, isn't it? One of my prayers is that I never want to lose the amazement at how awesomely God works in our lives. Thank you for your comment, GInger!
Delete