Is He talking to Me?

By Bruce Vyverberg

www.propheticmanna.com

It’s always amazing to me how the Lord is able to speak so clearly to our hearts and minds at the most unusual times and in the most unorthodox settings. I guess that’s why He’s God.

Recently, the Lord spoke a very clear word like this to my heart and mind while I was mowing the lawn. It’s quite something, at least to me, how His words can be heard and received even above all of the noise of a lawnmower. Here is what I believe He said…

“Pride will render a person virtually un-teachable or un-helpable by either the

Lord personally, or by the very people that He sends to teach and/or help.”



Only the Lord can speak such a “mouth full” in so few words. I have never known Him to mince words and He certainly didn’t that day.



There is little that will separate us in our walk with the Lord like pride. Biblically speaking; it nauseates Him. As I go through this life walking with the Lord, it is amazing to me the vastness of this sin; even among we Christians. Because it is such an insidious thing, it is often not easily recognized or admitted by the majority of offenders. It generally takes the Spirit of God to put His finger on this sin for us to recognize it. Although this can be a hugely painful experience for sure when He does, the benefits of a proper response on our end will bare tremendous fruit and freedom in our lives. In Psalm 139:23-24, the writer prays asking the Lord to search His heart and reveal anything (and everything) that displeases Him. Copying this prayer on a regular basis is a tremendous way for us to keep our own lives in accordance with His ways and character. It is also a prayer that the Lord will never fail to answer, for it is in line with His will for all of our lives.



Allow me to interject something at this time that is not very popular. Although never a pleasant thing, the Lord sometimes chooses to use other people to speak His corrective words into our lives. Although we readily give lip service to the concept of “accountability” among believers, we generally find it hard, if not impossible, to put this truth into practice when we seem to be on the receiving end. In reality, none of us (King Saul, King David, Eli the High Priest, or even the apostle Peter) is above receiving correction from another human. This is a test that many or most of us often unfortunately fail because this is where humility in its truest form is needed. However, whether it is in school, at work, in the church, or at home, His correction and our corresponding humility is a necessity for progress in all of our lives.



“Do not resent it when the Lord chastens and corrects you … for it is proof of His love” (Proverbs 3:11).

No comments:

Post a Comment