He Is God

Something was really bothering me this morning but I couldn't quite put my finger on it.  I prayed.  I prayed hard.  And then I prayed some more.  I kept asking God--what are you trying to remind me of, what are you saying to me, what are you wanting me to do?  After hours of pondering, praying and considering what God was doing in my heart--I finally got some answers.  And with those answers, a humility like I've never known before.

I was reminded this morning of a couple of sayings that were continually said in my home while I was growing up.  I wonder now if I was taught them for a reason, or if they were just used to stop the arguing between my sister and I.  What was the true intent of these quotes that were so often used in my childhood home?  

One quote went something like this--If you don't have something nice to say about someone, don't say anything at all.  That sounds like good advice to me.  Have I heeded that advice?  Hardly.  When someone makes me mad, angry, upset, jealous, etc, well, I just might say something not very nice.  I don't like that about myself.  I wish I could be that person who could keep their mouth shut, and just not say anything at all.  I could you know.  I could be that person--if I wanted to.  I could just plain shut up and only say good things about people.  My flesh gets in the way though, and that truly bothers me.  I was raised better than that.

Another quote went like this--believe half of what you see and none of what you hear.  Great advice!  Great!  Now why, oh why, can't I abide by that wisdom?  I have no excuses.  I read about people--in the newspapers, on the internet, in magazines and without even knowing them, without ever having met them, I judge them.  Why do I do that?

I can honestly say that it is this flaw in myself that is bothering me the most today.  I was raised with these 2 sayings being used in my home while growing up on almost a daily basis and yet--I fail to fulfill them in my own life.  God has laid this heavily on my heart.  As I sit here in my nice little home surrounded by my nice little neighborhood, by my friends, my church, etc--I sit here judging those in places of leadership over me, people whom I have never even met!  And today I have been convicted by the Holy Spirit.  Judge not.  That is what I am hearing from God today.  Judge not.

So what do I do with this?  How do I pray?  What do I say to God?  I have asked Him to forgive me, I have asked Him for wisdom, I have asked Him to help me speak only about the good in people, and to please help me not to judge them.  I know that I live in a world where there are bad people doing bad things, where there are corruption and violence, where there is evil roaming around like a lion.  How then do I keep from judging that?

And then I got my answer--judge that.  Not them.  It was profound for me.  That simple thought.  Yes, I've heard the saying--judge the sin not the sinner.  But that's not what I'm talking about here.  I'm talking about something that was buried deep down in my heart.  I am judging everything and everyone.  And God wants it to stop.  He wants me to understand something that goes way beyond anything I've ever considered before.  Judge the evilness in this world.  Just don't dare judge His creation--He will do that.  Don't judge His people.  He will do that.  Don't judge those He has put in authority.  He will do that.  For He is God.  And I am not.  He is the God of the universe.  He has control--completely, and forever.

I will heed this warning from my God.  I will listen to His voice.  I will not judge.  I will let Him do the judging.  For He is God.  And I am not.  And that to me is the best word of knowledge that I have received in a very long time.
Sela