I found out recently that I was the force behind someone else’s distress…
Someone else’s distress SEVEN months ago.
Not yesterday … SEVEN months ago.
That something I did pushed someone away from all God wanted for them.
I didn’t necessarily do anything wrong. Actually … I didn’t do anything wrong. But, the spirit in which it was received was judgmental and came from a preconceived notion of who I should be.
Bottom line: This person does not know me or my heart. And because of that, I’m down … discouraged … hurt that they would judge me in this manner. Especially when what was done was out of a heart of love.
Lots of people have preconceived notions about us and we have preconceived notions about them.
There are certain expectations of who we should be as moms, as wives, as women, as Christians. These expectations are mostly unreachable.
If we don’t live up to those expectations as Christians, it could be damaging to others.
That’s hard stuff. To think that one poor decision on my part could affect someone else’s eternity. Talk about pressure … pressure for us all.
Jesus is the only way. We cannot put our eyes on any human, man or woman, to determine our spiritual walk. They will fail us. It’s just the way it goes. Jesus never fails.
So, today, as I figure this thing out, I’m encouraged by one thing only:
Psalm 42:5 (MSG) – Why are you down in the dumps, dear soul?
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He’s my God.
Why are you crying the blues?
Fix my eyes on God—
soon I’ll be praising again.
He puts a smile on my face.
He’s my God.
I will remember who my God is and where He has brought me. I will not be distracted by anything or anyone that comes against me. I will put my hope and trust in the Lord.
It always hurts to hear about things we've done that negatively affected others. Don't beat yourself up, though. As you said, we are only human. All we can do is the best we can do to live for God moment by moment. This is a good reminder to all of us to put our faith and trust in God alone!
I too was hurt this past weekend and God is showing me that it is my expectations…
After reading your post it occured to me: People really do think they know you when they read your blog.
And if (we as blog owners) don't give the exact adivce, encouragement, comment that the person is expecting of us…well that can be sticky.
The verse you chose to end with is PERFECT.
We all need to keep our focus on God. He is the one we should depend on for all that we need.
Thank you for this post.
This is something I have to deal with quite often as a pastor's wife. So, I pray often that God will bring to light the times I need to know about and try to fix and then the ability to not worry about the ones I can't do anything about.
Amen to that!!!!