Ever had one of those? It's sort of like an epiphany-- a moment or situation in which the proverbial light-bulb comes on and you see things from an entirely different perspective.
Sometimes we simply learn something new-- something fresh and exciting.
Sometimes we discover we were wrong--terribly wrong about something.
Sometimes we have the scales of routine and familiarity fall from our eyes and find ourselves wondering how we could ever have lived a certain way, or followed such a pathway of negativity. What were we thinking?
Sometimes we recognize that certain people need to be left behind as we take one road and they another.
Epiphanies are as frequent as we recognize change is necessary for our lives. If we refuse to change, the epiphany is lost. Status quo is stagnant. It takes us no where. It keeps us in a pool of lethargy. Motionless. Dying.
It's similar to an unrepentant heart. One who refuses to turn from their wicked ways, rebuffs correction, ignores conviction and grieves the Holy Spirit after He has quickened a person's conscience. That person is destined to wallow in a sea of repercusions and consequence. These kind of folks are hardened against the reality of their own sin. These folks choose to be right. They choose to be right habitually.
They may not actually be right, but in their minds, they are always right.
They are never wrong. It's always someone else who is wrong or stubborn. They have all the answers and anyone else is foolish if they dare disagree or see something differently. They manipulate others to get their own way. They not only twist another's words, they twist their own to create another meaning entirely when confronted or challenged. They accuse others, demean others and treat them with an air of inferiority. That is because ultimately, one who chooses to be right all the time has a conscious or unconscious belief that they are superior to all others. They own truth; they possess knowledge and understanding. Or so they think.
I've pressed issues in my life like that before. No wiggle room. No space for err. It's fine when the "truth" is the truth. But not when my truth is simply my opinion of the truth. selah
It occurred to me, when I was reading Psalm 119 in these wee small hours of the morning, that the Lord was talking to me through His Word once again:
"Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I may not sin against Thee. Blessed are You, O Lord! Teach me Your statutes. With my lips I have declared all judgments of Your mouth. I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies. As much as in all riches, I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways; I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your Word." Psalm 119:11-16
There's a tidbit in the center of this passage that could be overlooked if not careful. "As much as riches". See it? One of the things folks let themselves dwell upon is the state of their well-being. How much money they have... how much they don't have. How this bill or that needs to be paid, how needy they are. Yet, as much as we need to be concerned for provision in our lives, there is as great or greater necessity to be vigilant to the enemy's ways to distract us from God's Word. For "as much as riches", we must meditate on His precepts-- His principles. We must contemplate His ways-- not ours or those of others. We must delight ourselves in His statutes-- not to become legalistic or reliant upon them for some evidence of our faithfulness. No. But because God's are beneficial. They protect us. They guide us. They are acceptable for reproof-- an indication of us being on the right path in life. We remember His Word and His Spirit will bring it to remembrance whenever we need Him-- in those dark hours when Satan clouds our minds with the minutaie and distractions of life-- when we might busy ourselves with our own collection of truth and own idea of right and wrong.
"Deal bountifully with Your servant, that I may live and keep Your Word. Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law." Ps. 119:17-18.
Take a few moments; listen to Awakening and rest in Him.