Whacks & bruises

“He has showed you, O man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to walk humbly with your God.”
Micah 6:8

Our ladies small group has been working our way through the book “Seeking Him – Experiencing the Joy of Personal Revival” by Nancy Leigh DeMoss. 

I would highly recommend it.  Every week has been a proverbial whack upside the head and this last week left a bruise or two (literally).

Last week’s lesson was on humility.  I’ve never considered myself haughty, arrogant or prideful.  But then maybe the first problem was that I didn’t think of myself that way.  Pride isn’t just an arrogance.  It’s so much more. 

There were many things that didn’t apply to me but my, oh my, were there some that did.

A few of the head-whacks I got were …

looking at others faults with a microscope and your own with a telescope – WHACK!  Why do we rate sins?  A sin is a sin is a sin but we tend to categorize them. 

being self-protective of my time – WHACK! (why do I think I can manage my time better than God?)

keeping others at arms length & not being transparent – WHACK!  I tend to not share what’s really going on inside.  You wouldn’t think that someone who has a blog would be a private person but there are just some areas of my being and thoughts that are off limits.   What might people think if I shared that???

finding it difficult to share spiritual needs with others – WHACK! (see above – what might people think?)

are self conscious – WHACK! (again see above – what might people think?)

and the biggest whack of all –
having an independent, self-sufficient spirit – HUGE WHACK & bruises to show for it!  
What’s wrong with being self-sufficient you ask?   It can be a good thing but I tend to take it a little far and am a tad bit of a control freak.  “I can handle it.  I can do it myself.”  I don’t outwardly say I don’t need God but many times my actions loudly speak it.  I much prefer to serve others than humble myself and let them serve me. 
The biggest realization is if I’m self-sufficient then I’m not relying on God to control my life.  There were a couple of events over this past weekend that brought this point home to me in ways I could have never imagined.   Life is not under my control and timing, it’s under God’s.    God is my sovereign Lord and Savior and has my life in His hands and I want to yield to that, really I do.  But unfortunately, sometimes I need a reminder or that proverbial whack to bring it to my attention again.  I am a work in progress for sure.   I just wish those whacks didn’t bruise so darn bad!