Piercing Kindness

^{Proverbs 16:24} Kind words are like honey—
    sweet to the soul and healthy for the body.

I love this Proverb, I love that it concentrates on the power of kindness, one of the fruits of the Spirit. The word here is “no-am”, meaning pleasantness, kindness and beauty.  A treasure that I found in the meaning of this word. “kindness”, shows that it also means one who “staves”.  To stave is to break something by forcing it inward, or piercing it roughly. Kindness breaking something, not harsh words or anger.  Not shouting into submission.  Kindness, given to us through the Holy Spirit has the power to break into circumstances and situations.  Kindness has the power to transform and to change from the inside out. Kindness, as it pierces into our dispositions and circumstances usurps that which was already there, creating a sense of well- being and health.

Stave also means to delay, or avert something bad. Kindness has the power to change our circumstances and save us for ourselves and others! I have never thought of the power of kindness in this way before. Thank you Holy Spirit for this revelation, a new way to look at spiritual warfare and well-being!

Let’s pray:

Holy Spirit, we ask that we would learn how to brandish our sword of kindness.  Help us to alter our ways of doing things, help us to adopt these new practices and jewels that You are revealing to us.  Help us to not grow weary and not give up.  Help us as we bow our own plights, thoughts, actions and plans to a Holy Obedience to the Ordinary.

Continuing to Shift Our Paradigms

²³ From a wise mind comes wise speech;
    the words of the wise are persuasive.

Wise words are rooted in a wise mind. How do we protect our minds and foster Wisdom there? Remember that we are told to take every thought captive to Christ. Here we see the flow of Wisdom, it starts within our minds, comes out of us through wise speech and finds fertile soil as it is released. This holy obedience to the ordinary is about a shift in our paradigms at a microscopic level! Literally, every thought, deed and action need to be rooted in Christ before they are released!

Here we are promised that wise words are persuasive, they draw others into their life and the promises contained through Wisdom. Wisdom begets Wisdom and draws others into its fold. How exciting that we get to be part of this process!

Let’s pray:

Lord, help us to take each thought captive to You, exposing stinkin’ thinkin’, judgement, criticism, negativity, hurtful memories, anger, ruminating thoughts, legalism….all of these things that foster foolish actions.  Help us to discern our thoughts and our thought processes and slow them down, so that we can invite You into the midst of our moments.

A Picture of Communication Through The Spirit

^{Proverbs 16:22} Discretion is a life-giving fountain to those who possess it,
    but discipline is wasted on fools.

Yesterday we looked at slowing down our speech, and today we learn how to offer life in these conversations of reverence.  Let’s look at the definition of discretion: the quality of being careful about what you do and say so that people will not be embarrassed or offended : the quality of being discreet

We are promised here that discretion offers life to others, a never ending fountain that splashes those around us.  What a nice state of being to exist in, splashing others with affirmation, encouragement and life. To know that this fountain exists within us, watering our innermost parts as it is shared with the world.  What a beautiful picture of communication through the Spirit!! To worry more about what your mouth is saying and what your body language is conveying than being right, arguing, criticizing, nagging and bickering- these are the ways of the fool.

Lord, the thought of being a never ending fountain of life, where Your wisdom and Spirit pour from us, splashing the world and altering atmospheres….this is what we want. This is the communion that we want to walk in, and the outpouring we want to offer. .

Intentional Conversation

^{Proverbs 16:21} The wise are known for their understanding,
    and pleasant words are persuasive.

I love what Matthew Henry has to say about our verse today:

“Those that with their wisdom have a happy elocution, that deliver their sentiments easily and with a good grace, are communicative of their wisdom and have words at will, and good language as well as good sense, increase learning; they diffuse and propagate knowledge to others, and do good work with it, and by that means increase their own stock. They add doctrine, improve sciences, and do service to the commonwealth of learning. To him that has, and uses what he has, more shall be given.”

The thought of delivering sentiments with good grace and sense is very appealing! How many times has my foot been found to be drooping out of my mouth as I try to swallow it down? To be in such a state of communion with God, that He permeates our every moment. Just think about the amount of connectivity we are referring to here: that His ways and words would be planted and formed within our hearts and minds BEFORE we speak.  His intentions and His path to be seen before we enter into the conversation, and as we are in the midst of conversation.

Oh Lord, help us to slow down and seek You before all else before all we do and all we speak.  We are so busy living our lives, we bumble through our days missing divine appointments and moments to build bridges. Teach us how to slow down Lord.  In this day and age we are racing to the finishing line, and falling into bed exhausted.  To be so intentional, so slow that we abide in Your presence and live out of Your secret places – this is what we are striving for as we undergo this study.   Help us abide in You Christ.

Do Ya, Do Ya, Do Ya Like Me Yet?

²⁰ Good things happen to those who learn from their experiences, and the Lord blesses those who trust him.

To learn from our experiences, isn’t that what we are after? To process all that we do through the filter of holy obedience and redirect our rudder accordingly. It seems so easy, doesn’t it?  Then why do we find ourselves in the same circumstances, time and time again?

The Bible speaks a lot about having a teachable spirit, one example is 1 Peter 5:5 (ESV) :

5Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”

We are back again, to humility vs pride. We are looking at having a demeanor that is able to take criticism as a tool.  A demeanor that begs for the Holy Spirit to enlighten to the dangers and the pitfalls of self, in every circumstance. Every, single, time we are faced with conflict – do we seek a higher perspective?  This is a teachable spirit.

For me, that means :

·      not arguing my point relentlessly, for the sake of unity- letting go.

·      not having to win every argument, for the sake of grace allowing other perspectives and ways to the finish line.

·      When a conflict is entered, I try to slow down and see where there is too much of “me” adding to the conflict.  If I can remove my buttons and triggers from the conflict, does the conflict become less tense?  -usually it does

·      For me, a personal experience that I have entered into time and time again is people pleasing.  I am learning how to be ok when people that don’t like me. I have been known to chase people down, trying to just get them to think better of me.  I have jumped through hoops of fire to please, and only found myself exhausted.

It is easiest for me to show how I have recently learned from my experiences and crafted a new, healthier path. Remember that I am a recuperating people pleaser…let’s look at accusations.  They are a funny thing, aren’t they?  They pierce the soul and shatter our hearts. After a set of unjust accusations, the old me would kick into high gear with my mad dog people pleasing skills. I would set out to show them how these beliefs of my character and nature weren’t true. Now, I let it go. With eyes focused on God,  I ask for Him to search my heart and show me any malignancy. I have to own, repent and change anything that is revealed to my heart, and the rest, just let it go.

Folks don’t like me, they even think horrible things of me. I am accountable to God alone.  My experiences have taught me that people pleasing exhausts me AND it exhausts the person I am trying to please.  Like a fly buzzing around their head with my words constantly tickling their ears, “Do you like me yet?  Do you like me yet? Do you like me yet?” Lord have mercy, I apologize now to those I buzzed around relentlessly! My mom has always told me, “People are going to think, and say, what they want about you- you have no control over it. Make sure it’s not true, and let it go.”.   My mom’s a wise woman, it took me 49 years to heed her advice and learn from my experiences.  Thanks mom and thank you God, for giving me so many chances to get it right- with you as my focus, seated on Your throne.  I tumble and toss down the altars I have put folks on as I tried to please them, ignoring you.

So what about you?  What experiences keep coming up, over and over?  What are you to learn from them? Good things will happen as we learn from the experience that keep coming up, the Bible promises!  So next time the “same old” problem pops up look at it as a classroom and ace the exam!!! 

Special hugs to all of my people pleasing peeps out there- I get you!  <3

Where Can I Sign Up?

¹⁹ Better to be lowly in spirit along with the oppressed
    than to share plunder with the proud.

I know that this is a paradox that is hard to gulp down, unless you are living in the upside down, right side up of Kingdom living.  To choose to be lowly in spirit?  Ridiculous!!  We live in a world that is dog eat dog, rise to to the top, compete to win…but …what if?

What if we chose a different route? What if we didn’t live according to the world’s standards.  Solomon, seemingly the richest man that ever lived, says it is better to be humble with the lowly, poor and meek, rather than, trying to get your piece of the pie with the proud and arrogant.

In the world’s economy everyone is looking to get their moment, their portion, their slice, and making sure no one’s is bigger.  You have to hold onto what you have because everyone wants to take it away from you.

How exhausting.

In His economy, you get to chill.  Like the little Lamb in my picture, your needs are provided and He promotes.  He blesses and He creates opportunities.  He leads us to greener pastures, beside still waters. We don’t compete against each other, because no one can do what I have been called to do in the Kingdom.  I can’t do what you are called to do.  So I chill in the green grass and I abide in the ways of my Shepherd, with all of my sheep family.  And we exist in love and encouragement. Yes please!  Where do I sign?

Let’s pray:

Lord help me to let of of the world’s economy and harsh tactics. Help me to leave a gentler footprint and an encouraging word wherever I go. Help me to relax in Your will and Your ways and let go of competition, strife and power struggles.  Help me so that peace and joy can be my fruits and my inheritance I am remembered by.

Choices, Choices Evrywhere!!

¹⁸ Pride goes before destruction,
    a haughty spirit before a fall.

Pride is defined in the Hebrew language here through the word, “ga'own”, meaning arrogance,  This word also houses a mirror reflection within its meaning of majesty , and delight in our God.  So that we do not get confused, and so that we give all the glory to our God, as is deserved, Solomon throws in the word “haughty”, which has nothing but a negative connotation.

It is interesting to me that this one word, “ga'own”  contains the full spectrum of human emotion. We can have pride in our work that doesn’t border on arrogance, rather, houses an  honest work ethic. Ga'own  can represent a joy in the majesty of God.  On the other end of the spectrum is Ga'own with pomp, arrogance and swelling.

We always have a choice, don’t we? We always have to check ourselves and check our motives.  Biblically speaking, the height of offense, through pride, comes right before destruction.  Pharaoh, Sennacherib, Nebuchadnezzar, were instances of this. It would seem to me that our God handles pride that is an offense to His Throne, we don’t have to. It would seem far more prudent to be on guard against offensive pride within our own hearts, than worrying about the state of affairs of others hearts.  

Lets pray:

Lord help me to guard my heart against pride.  Something that can start out as an honest emotion can quickly run out of control.  Help us to keep our boundaries up and our sense of awareness heightened. My prayer is that we would always attribute the works of our hands to you and the gifts that are bestowed, upon He that is the gift giver. My we always delight in the Majesty of the Lord and not in ourselves.   Amen