The Same Words
The other day I posted,
"Beware of the Troll." The response surprised me. I received a lot of
positive feedback, yet I lost six Facebook friends that day (by the way, I now
have five new Facebook friends, so there ya go). The "hits" were less, yet the
response greater. I write the
devotionals in first person (I, me, my) to relate the struggles, thoughts and
days I live, with the idea that we all can relate - not to point a finger.
I have always found it
interesting how God can use the same words in different ways. He can use the Word of God, a sermon, the
words of a child, even a comment made in passing to speak to my heart. The very
same words bring about very different reactions depending on my walk with the
Lord at that moment. The Holy Spirit is at work. He gives the Words their
power.
I keeping with the Facebook analogy,
when I react to the empowered words of the Holy Spirit with anger and want to
"unfriend" God, it is an indication that He is reproving me of sin.
When I find the words encouraging or motivating, I will want to
"like" the words. I may even want to put an "amen" in the
"comments" section. When I feel God's judgment (conviction), my
reaction should not be indifference. I should not walk away. Instead of a
desire to reject it by "blocking" the person saying it, I need to bow
before God in repentance and prayer. The
same words can work so differently!
Whenever He speaks to me, He
presses me to make a choice. Will I reject the words? Will I act upon those
words? Will I brush them away indifferently? Will I block out the person saying
them.
"And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of
righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment,
because the prince of this world is judged." John 16:8-11.
© copyright Kevin T Boekhoff
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