There is such a great comfort in belonging to the Lord. I honestly don't know how people without the Lord even get out of bed in the morning. Sometimes the world just seems to be too much and I want to hide in a hole, but with the Lord I have the strength to crawl out and start again.
I was talking to a friend the other day and we learned that each of us had been victim of the rumor mill. She told me how much it hurt to be accused and I agreed. I'd been falsely judged--accused of words that never came out of my mouth. Worse still, in both cases, it wasn't the world judging us, but rather Christians. Christians who should have known better, because I thought they knew me.
A dear sister in the Lord listened to me ask for prayer at our Monday morning Bible study and she sent me a connection with these wonderful Scriptures.
I Corinthians 4
This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and
as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. 2 Now it is required that those who
have been given a trust must prove faithful. 3 I care very little if I am judged by you or by any
human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. 4 My conscience is clear, but that
does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. 5 Therefore judge nothing before
the appointed time; wait until the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is
hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of the heart. At that time each
will receive their praise from God.Aren't those awesome verses? I found such comfort in them and I know my friend did too. I'm so grateful to the woman who sent me this reminder.
I'm not without faults - just like the verse says, but God knows my conscience is clear and that I will let Him deal with the pain caused me by brothers and sisters. I will let Jesus hold me.
Most of all, this set of verses reminded me to be very cautious about jumping to conclusions or listening to gossip and rumors. It reminded me that often things are said, even in the church, that has no purpose but to degrade and wound. The tongue is definitely a sword with which we can wound and I want to be very careful about the things I say and the accusations I throw around. I want to remember that even on the cross, Jesus forgave the things that others said falsely about Him.
I'm so very comforted in belonging to the Lord. He is my stronghold and I hope He's yours as well. I think Psalm 141:3 will be my prayer:
Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over
the door of my lips.
Tracie
P.S. Check out this website interview:
http://www.christianfictionsite.com/1/post/2013/02/featured-author-interview-with-tracie-peterson.html
What an uplifting thought. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your heart with us, dear Tracie. Those verses you shared are wonderful. ~ Praying for you, sweet lady.
ReplyDeleteHugs, Patti Jo
(1 Peter 5:7)
Thanks so much for your comments. I know a bunch of you responded privately with such sweet encouragements. Thank you. You are so dear to me.
ReplyDeleteI can't begin to imagine how grieved God is when His children gossip under the guise of asking for prayer. "Poor Bertha, bless her heart, she needs our prayers. Did you know..."
ReplyDeleteNO,I DON'T NEED TO KNOW!
I once saw an old saint in our church interrupt the "Did you know" by saying, "I know I love our sister. We all hold her close in our hearts. Since God knows her situation, I don't need any details." She offered up a prayer for "our sister's unspoken issue."
WOW. I wanna be her when I grow up. Oh, wait. I grew up. If someone cut me in half, I've got plenty of rings to prove my age. When God wanted news to be told, He sent an angel. I'm no angel. So my job is to pray and to be a loving example to talebearers... and to lend my support to a sister who undoubtedly needs love instead of judgment.
Cathy