The Open Door...

In the quiet of the night early this morning, I laid in bed thinking about various things when the familiar scripture from Proverbs 3:5-6 began to play in my mind. 

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

 And lean not on your own understanding;

 In all your ways acknowledge Him

 And He shall direct your paths.”   (NKJV)

As I mused over the verse, I began to slowly whisper each word one at a time, pausing to think about what I had just spoken out.  After a few times through, the second part of verse five seemed to stand out.  “And… lean… not… on… your… own… understanding.”  Suddenly a little voice began to speak from deep inside after I repeated the phrase.  As I tuned into that voice it said, “Which the devil will flood your mind with!”  I sat still for a moment as I absorbed the statement and then realized the point.  The devil loves to have an open door by which he is more than happy to flood your mind with thoughts that are contrary to God’s thoughts, thoughts that are contrary to His Word.

I mentioned in the blog a few days ago that in the midst of the personal attacks against me that “I found myself continually rehearsing what had been said or done and then wasted additional time planning my counterattack!”  (See “POWER” 9/11/12) That is exactly what that little voice inside of me was talking about!  In my natural response to the hurtful words, I immediately began to lean on my own understanding.  Once I opened the door, the enemy of our souls was glad to fill the space with thoughts of “poor me” combined with a little anger and revenge mixed in!

The proactive answer to this situation is found in verse six by acknowledging Him in all your ways.  Once again the Message Bible sheds a little clearer light on this direction by saying, “Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track.”

In John 10:27 Jesus made the comment that “My sheep know my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” (KJV)  When those negative thoughts came into my mind I knew that they were not God’s, but I was so frustrated, surprised and hurt that I allowed myself the luxury of self pity.  But believe me, it was no luxury!  It was a trap and I fell in head first!  Then on top of having to deal with the words that were spoken against me, I had to deal with the feelings of remorse for the way I responded.  And the devil just loves to add to those feelings as well!

But thank God for His grace!  He is quick to forgive when we finally see the light and make the turn back to him and besides that, He promises to forget our transgression.  (See Jeremiah 31:34)  Isn’t God good!

As I lay enveloped by the pillow of His love in the darkness of our bedroom that was illuminated by the shadow of the lamp post on the walkway outside our window, I began to laugh and nod my head saying “Well, that’s one lesson I definitely learned the hard way!”  Just think what trouble I could have avoided if I only listened to the One voice I knew was the right one to yield to!  So maybe I can save you a little extra pain and anxiety by sharing this story and encourage you to acknowledge Him in all that you do by listening “for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go…”

Have a great Thursday!  Stay in tune to His Word and keep asking yourself… “What GOOD REPORTS from HIS VOICE am I expecting to hear today?”