Not a discouraging word

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. (Ephesians 1:3-6)

There are times when we 'judge' someone over and over again, all because they have a whole bunch of 'do-overs' in their lives. We point out how many times they slip and fall, but God sees only the returns! He is celebrating each and every 'do-over' because he knows that individual is not content to backslide, nor are they content to just 'abide' where they are - they want to change. It is hard to change, and he knows that. He relishes every one of those times we call out to him with a new commitment to 'do-over' life's decisions. He also gives us much grace to move beyond those moments!

Discouraging things happen and they are always trying to pull us down, hold us back, or keep us focused on something that wasn't the right choice. That is Satan's tactic, not God's. God isn't going to guilt us - he is going to encourage us, even when discouragement abounds. We have a new 'position' - we are in Christ. As followers of Christ, that means God's love is always there in our lives - he isn't going to quit on us. Satan's greatest hope is that we will cave under the weight of discouragement. Don't give him the satisfaction!

There are two responses to discouragement - we can either cave under its weight, or we can be driven closer to God. God gives us great blessings, but we might feel unworthy of them right now. He gives us great privilege, but we don't want to 'impose' upon those privileges because we feel too dirty, haggard, and sin-riddled right now. God sees the heart - he knows the actions we have engaged in are not what our heart truly desires. He knows that 'in Christ Jesus' we were made new and that we desire that newness of life to reign supreme in our lives. 

So, press into his grace and goodness, not your guilt. He is waiting to restore, you just need to ask. Trust him more than you are trusting those discouraging words your enemy is hurling at you right now. They are truth! Just sayin!

I will not allow you to control my life!

If God is for us, who can ever be against us? Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t he also give us everything else? Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself. Who then will condemn us? No one—for Christ Jesus died for us and was raised to life for us, and he is sitting in the place of honor at God’s right hand, pleading for us. (Romans 8:31-34)

Many of us need a reality check from time to time. The moment we begin to give into the accusations of others, finding fault with everything that happens in our lives, or rising up in some form of indignation about something they don't understand that has occurred with us, we need that check. Why? No man, woman, or child can ever accuse us. They may 'judge', but that is their issue. We cannot control how they think or act - we are only responsible to live and act as God directs us to.

To accuse is to find fault with something or someone. Not every accusation is based in fact, though. There are times when others accuse us of things we didn't control, or things they have no real inside information into, but they find fault anyway. To condemn is to indicate they don't approve of what we have done, or what has come into our lives as a blessing. Either way, God reminds us that the only basis for accusation or judgment is when he makes it!

Keep your heart right with him and stop listening to the voices around you that accuse or condemn. God looks at our heart - sees our intentions, knows our thoughts, understands our emotions. He knows when we 'do well' or 'not so well', but others may not possess the same insight. Why do we listen to their accusations or condemning words? Perhaps those hurling those accusations are really just a bit too 'bullying' in their behavior!

Words hurt more than we want them to, don't they? They get inside our brains, we muddle over them for a while, then before long, they have taken root in our heart. Remember, the bully wants to control you. God tells us the only 'control' over our lives should be that of his Spirit. Stop muddling over what you hear and start replacing those hurtful words with the Word of God. No one can condemn those redeemed by the Blood of Jesus. No one! Just sayin!