Monday, May 24, 2010

Planks

Today’s Reading: Psalm 31, 35; John 11:30-57

“Love the Lord, all his saints! The Lord preserved the faithful, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord” (Psalm 31:23-24 NIV)

I love the encouragement in these verses above. At times I look at the failures in my own life and I feel so downhearted. It’s nice to be reminded to wait on the Lord today and everyday.
Because sometimes I fail in this Christian walk. Sometimes I come up short. Sometimes it’s an external failing, and sometimes it’s internal.
Yesterday I found myself feeling proud and judgmental. I heard something someone said, and decided to get all bent out of shape about it. I cast my own judgment on the situation, even though I was only a spectator.
It was wrong of me, I know, but I did it just the same. Even when the end of the day came, I was still a little angry about it. I was still feeling proud and judgmental. And then my devotion time with my husband spoke to my heart. The devotion was on making false judgments, exactly what I needed to say. I was reminded how wrong it was for me to make judgments, when I really didn’t know the real situation. I was reminded how God is the only true judge in this life, and that He will one day bring all of us to account for our actions.
I was especially struck by the words Jesus spoke in Matthew 7:1-5:
“‘Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye” (NIV).

Ouch. I certainly had a plank in my eye that had to be taken out last night. I certainly don’t want to be counted among the proud and judgmental hypocrites of this world. Instead, I want to be seen as a woman after God’s own heart.


Have you ever formed any false judgments? What did you learn through the situation? What might God want to reveal to you today?

Lord, please help me to not be to quick to judge, but to instead focus on what really matters, you.

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