wisdom

Shake it Like a Polaroid Picture

/ Jana / Leave a comment

Do you ever have those times in life that you feel like conflict surrounds you? I mean, conflict at work, at home, in friendships, with relatives. Just conflict all around. I’ve been sitting in the middle of what felt like consistent and continual conflict and it is not a fun place to be for this enneagram 9.

Much like Matthew 5:23-24, I continually felt like I was walking to the altar in my heart with a gift and was reminded that my relative/co-worker/child/employee at Target had something against me so I had to go make it right with that person before I could talk with Jesus. So, really, I felt a deep need to people-please so God would be alright with me. A deep need to stuff my feelings and make sure everyone else was happy so I could talk to my Best Friend. That doesn’t really grasp the heart of the original text of relationship over religious ritual, does it?

I took it to the Lord and said, “I feel like I can’t even talk to you because so many people have so much against me. What do You have to say about that?” and so kindly He said, “I’m the one you sin against, not them. If you know that I forgive you, having them forgive you is a bonus.” And the pressure came off a little bit. The more I dug into His Words, the more I saw the full picture of His love for me. He cleanses me from all righteousness, not them. He makes me a new creation, without their permission. He tells me I can approach His Throne of grace with confidence. He desires a relationship with me, over religious rituals and He desires His Kids to be in peaceful, loving, healthy relationships.

In the middle of a conflict the other day, He reminded me about my grandmother’s old polaroid camera. My sister and I loved that thing growing up. We would take pictures of literally everything and would fan that polaroid back and forth to try to hurry up the developing process. Jesus said, “This conflict, this image you see could be perceived a certain way but it isn’t fully developed. Just give it more time. Don’t zero in on one aspect. Step back and ask Me for the full picture.”

Wisdom is seeing things from His perspective and I’ve found that asking for wisdom in conflict is my purest form of love for another.

So, maybe you find yourself in some conflict. Maybe you have picked up an offense, been hurt or feel misunderstood. May I encourage you today to take His Hand and lean into His heart for you. Whether you have wronged or been wronged, ask for forgiveness from Him for the offense and wait for the full picture to develop. It’s always more beautiful and more intentionally detailed than we could ever imagine.

What’s Your “Must Have” ?

/ Jana / 2 Comments

Proverbs 2: 9-11
9 Then you will understand what is right and just
   and fair—every good path.
10 For wisdom will enter your heart,
   and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.
11 Discretion will protect you,
   and understanding will guard you.

Sometime we get so caught up in keeping the rules, or avoiding them, that we forget to engage our hearts with God. God is the good path. His wisdom changes our lives and the course of our lives. So to grow in wisdom is to see it as a “must have.” More than hair color, or latest fashions, understanding God’s way of doing what is right and just and fair becomes our greatest gain. He promises when we adjust our lives to that end, we will experience great benefit.

Are You Complacent?

/ Jana / 1 Comment

Proverbs 1 :32
32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them,
   and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety
   and be at ease, without fear of harm.”

Complacency is a scary word. It means: A feeling of contentment or self-satisfaction, especially when coupled with an unawareness of danger, trouble, or controversy.

When it comes to spiritual blindness, numbness or ignorance, those three things being distinct, complacency is toxic. We don’t look or ask or pursue the things of God because we are content with our own perspective. Yet our perspective is “unaware” of pending danger.

Proverbs is meant for one thing, making one wise. Listen to the way of God. View things through His lenses. Be actively engaged in your world through the power of Christ.  Then you will live without fear of harm.

Groping in the Dark

/ Jana / 1 Comment

I get in the middle of drama sometimes. Do you? I mean the kind of drama that swirls around you like a spring thunderstorm. Out of nowhere, before you know it, you are frantically searching left and right, conversation blowing around you from all directions. And you ask: How the heck did I get here??

My most recent of these whirlwinds has kept me in distress. I think and pray about it when I go to bed. I wake up in the night distressed. I rise in the morning with it still in my heart and mind. And I finally concluded that the only solution to the drama, the trauma and heartache is this: Godly wisdom.

In this particular case, the folks are doing the best they know. But that is the problem, what they know  is not enough. They need God’s wisdom, His ways of doing life, reconciling, forgiving. Living in Him. They need to know what He knows.

If they don’t have Him, they only have their wants, desires, and demands to lead them. It’s a scary place. And the destruction is painful to watch. As I was praying for this desperate situation, the Lord reminded me of this passage:

       I will lead the blind by ways they have not known,
       along unfamiliar paths I will guide them;
       I will turn the darkness into light before them
       and make the rough places smooth.
       These are the things I will do;
       I will not forsake them. Isaiah 42:16

What a promise, that He knows we need light, knows that we are groping, hands out in front of us, in the dark. Now to wait. Now to pray for tender, surrendered hearts before the Lord.

This is a powerful passage to pray over people and situations. Change out the word “they” for the person your are interceding for. And then claim the last two lines: “God do what You promised and thank You that You will not forsake them.”

If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him. James 1:5