Month: November 2023

29
Nov
2023

Deep Water

 

 

 “The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water,

But a man of understanding will draw it out.”

Proverbs 20:5

Christmas is coming, and with Christmas comes Christmas presents, Christmas shopping, and Christmas lists. We all like to receive and most often we ask everyone for their Christmas list. We want to get others something that they want. We don’t want to get something for someone and when they open it up their face falls. Rather than joy and excitement on their face, they have a look of almost disgust. Rather than a heart of thankfulness, there is a heart of complaining. We have all seen this at Christmas or at birthday celebrations.

What about the unexpected present that was never asked for, but is a gift that brings the recipient much joy? That surprise gift that brings great pleasure to the recipient because it was never anything they asked for, rather it was something that because you knew them you knew it would be the perfect gift. So you bought it for them and gave it to them.

We celebrated Christmas at Thanksgiving with our kids this year. My husband is a very thoughtful gift giver and pays attention to what is said and it immediately goes into his Amazon cart:) I received a few other presents that were also very perceptive of the giver; things that I did not ask for, but are very special because the givers did a great job at listening to what I said or noticing what I needed.

Our Proverb for today is similar to gift giving. It is the art of perception. It involves the art of observation, and the science of asking good questions. Our hearts are the seat of our desires. Oftentimes, we do not even know or understand what we are desiring or what we are wanting. Have you ever asked or been asked, “Why are you crying?” and the response to the questions was “I don’t know.” I have been asked this question and have had this very same response.

The desires or purposes in our hearts are like water that are deep in the earth. We live out in the “country.” We have 5 acres and have no connection to city water, so we have a well. Have you ever seen the machine that is used to dig a well? (if not, see the picture that goes with this post) It is a truck with a big “boom” on the back that is used to bore a hole into the earth until it hits water. These drills bore 100 -500 feet into the earth. There needs to be enough water for a house to meet its water needs.

A person of understanding will be perceptive enough to ask the right questions in order to “bore” into the person to find out the purposes and desires in their hearts. Just like the process of digging a well is long and challenging, so the process of understanding another person can be hard and challenging. It takes multiple questions, quiet observation skills, and the gift of perception.

The discovery, though, of what might be in the heart of another person may be a surprise to both. Herein lies the beauty of the person of understanding, they know what to do next with what is discovered. They know how to help the other sort through the purposes and desires by helping them evaluate those purposes with grace and humility.

As a biblical counselor and as a mom this verse is a challenge to me. I want in every interaction that I have with others to be a woman of understanding. I want to carefully and delicately understand the desires of the other person, and then help them evaluate those desires against the truth of God’s Word. I am still learning how to do this and will always be learning how to better represent Jesus in my everyday interactions with others. I want to represent my Lord well by being perceptive, asking good questions, and having quiet observation skills of others.

“The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water,

But a man of understanding will draw it out.”

Proverbs 20:5

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22
Nov
2023

God’s Purpose Will Stand

“Many are the plans in the mind of a man,

But it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”

Proverbs 19:21

 

My husband is a planner. Both of his parents are planners. My children are planners. They all have great satisfaction from putting together a plan, talking about the plan, and executing the plan. You never have to wonder what to expect when we go on vacation together or even when we will go on vacation. It is talked about well in advance of the actual vacation. All the plans are put into place way before the vacation happens. There is not a lot of fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants in our family. Plan are very important. The thought process is that the more that things are planned, the greater enjoyment there will be in the activity and everyone will know what to expect.

Planning so everyone knows what to expect and knows what to pack helps everyone to be prepared, but what happens when the activities don’t turn out quite how they were planned. What happens when the Lord has a different plan than what we did?

There are a few things to consider in this instance.

  1. God is Sovereign.

The more we trust in the sovereignty of God the better we can handle the abrupt changes that may thwart our plans. James tells us in James 4:15 “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” We should make a plan, but always understand that God is ultimately in control of the outcome of our plans. He is the One that allows change to happen in our plans. It is His purpose or His will that will ultimately be fulfilled. It is not our purpose or will that will ultimately direct our days.

This thought should also be a comfort to us as we face various decisions in life. As we seek earnestly God’s will for our lives through His Word and prayer, we can be encouraged about our choices. If our choice goes against God’s Word, we know that this is not God’s will for our lives. God has given us many wise people that we can consult with when faced with a life altering decision: our parents, our pastor, or wise mentors.

At the end of the day, if we make a choice that does not go against God’s Word, but is not the “Purpose of the Lord” He is sovereign and can change the course of our lives. No experience that happens in our life will be wasted.

  1. The circumstances of life reveals our hearts

Whenever we have a plan that does not turn out how we intended it to, God wants to use that detour of our plans to mold us to be more like Jesus. That circumstance or change of plans will be used by God to reveal what is in our hearts. When our plans do not go how we had intended, we are like a spilled glass. Whatever is in the glass will be what comes out. If we have water in our glass, water will come out. If we have selfish desires in our hearts, what will come out of our lives will be anger or despair.

Our selfish desires reveal that we are holding too tightly to our plans. Our selfish desires reveal that we know what is better for our lives, and we think that God’s plans are not the right plans.

It is hard to be “thankful in all circumstances” (I Thess. 5:18) when our perfectly laid plans are foiled, yet God says we are to be thankful in all circumstances. When we meet a foil in our plans with anger, resentment, despair, or anxiety we are in essence telling God that His plan for our lives is wrong.

So what is the answer? Plan in pencil.

Planning helps us to use our time wisely, but we must not hold so tightly to our plans that we get frustrated, angry, depressed or anxious when they do not go as we had anticipated.

God’s purposes will stand whether we want them to or not.

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15
Nov
2023

What are you Acquiring?

“An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”

Proverbs 18:15

I have been serving as a Certified Biblical Counselor for about 3 years now. God has allowed me the opportunity to serve Him through this ministry, and I have grown tremendously. I have said and will say again that even if my counselees do not change, I know that God has brought about change in my heart and life.

One of the things that I try to find out from counselees is what they are reading or listening to. Today, we don’t just listen to music we also listen to podcasts. We don’t just read books, we also listen to books. One of the greatest discoveries for me this year has been listening to books. The library has a wealth of books to listen to or to read the printed word on the page. These books can be checked out as physical books or as electronic books on an electronic device. There really is no reason why we do not read except that we do not prioritize it.

The reason I want to know what people are reading or listening to is because I want to know what is influencing them. What is influencing their thinking? What is impacting their actions or their words? We have all heard the phrase “garbage in, garbage out.” If we are not putting godly things into our brains, then we will not have godly thoughts, words, or actions come out. Every book that I read is not a “spiritual” book. I try to be careful that what I read or listen to would not go against the principles of God’s Word.

I just finished reading “A Shepherd’s Look at Psalms 23” by W. Phillip Keller and am currently listening to “Educated” by Tara Westover. The purpose of this post is not to give you a book report. What I want us to understand is that what we allow to enter our minds impacts our thoughts, words, and actions.

Our verse tells us that the wise acquire and seek knowledge. Why do they acquire and seek knowledge? So that they know better how to live. Wisdom comes from living out the correct knowledge and the Biblical principles that we know. It is one thing to have a wealth of knowledge, but quite another to live that knowledge out. It does no one any good to have a lot of book knowledge if they do not then translate that book knowledge into wise practice.

In “A Shepherd’s Look at Psalm 23” we get a glimpse into Psalm 23 from the perspective of a shepherd. The author better understands the Psalm because he is a shepherd. He understands how to care for sheep because he has the factual knowledge and the experiential knowledge.

We gain knowledge and understanding by being inquisitive and by being humble enough to search the Scriptures for the answer, spending time in prayer to seek the Lord for His direction, and by asking others to help us understand what we don’t know.

When we ask questions, do we desire to learn or do we desire to show off how smart we are? The truly wise person seeks to understand from a point of humility not from a point of being a know-it-all.

It has been an exciting year for me this year as I have had the world opened up to me by the power of listening to books. What is it that you are seeking to acquire in the 24 hours each day that God has given you? Are you seeking to acquire knowledge to puff you up or to help you better serve our Lord by understanding the world around you?

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01
Nov
2023

A Cool Spirit or a Hot Head

“Whoever restrains his words has knowledge,

And he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.”

Proverbs 17:27

I just finished reading a book called “The Heart of Anger” by Lou Priolo. It is a very practical book for parents as they navigate the challenges of raising children. The challenge we as parents have in parenting is that we are proud and self-centered trying to rear a child that also is proud and self-centered. At the heart of this, there is a dire need for Christ, the Gospel, and the Bible.

If we do not see our need for a Savior, the Gospel, the Bible, and the assistance of the Holy Spirit we will be woefully lacking in our ability to raise children that are God fearing and respectful people.

Our verse from Proverbs is an outflow of a person that is dependent on Christ, the Gospel, the Bible, and the assistance of the Holy Spirit.  We cannot hope to have a cool spirit with restrained words, if we try to do this alone. Eventually, we will be like the volcano who ruptures and spews forth angry words of lava under all the pressure that is built up.

What must we do to keep our cool? This verse tells us we must have knowledge and be a man/woman of understanding. This tells me that we must be a thinking people rather than  emotional reactive people. In so many situations that occur, we react rather than act. When we react, we allow our emotions to “drive the train” of our actions. When we act, we allow our biblically sanctified thoughts to “drive the train.”

  1. Be in the Word and in prayer daily

We must daily be in the Word and in prayer, so that we can “renew our minds.” (Rom. 12:2) if we are thinking thoughts that are godly we will be able to have a godly action in the midst of the circumstance. What drives us to react with our emotions is our pride and selfishness. We feel like someone is threatening what we want, what we desire. If we angrily lash out at someone for something they say or do, or we inwardly seethe with distaste for the other person because of their words or actions then we know that we have acted out of selfishness and pride.

We need the Bible and prayer to daily biblically inform us of the kind of people that we are. We need the Bible and prayer to help us daily “Prepare our minds for action.” (I Peter 1:13).

  1. Evaluate your words, your tone, and your volume

“…he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.” (Prov. 17:27). The cool spirited person knows what Scripture says about his speech. “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (Prov. 15:1). This cool spirited person knows that it is sin to speak in a way that is not gentle, raises their voice, and inflicts verbal harm to their listener. This cool spirited man/woman does not let his pride/self-centeredness get in the way of the conversation, but rather seeks to understand the other person. This cool spirited person knows that blowing up or sulking during the conversation does not solve the problem, but rather escalates the problem.

  1. Seek to understand the other person not control them

If we blow up or sulk in the midst of the conversation, we are trying to control the other person or the situation so that we can get what we want. We are willing to sacrifice honoring God in this relationship on the altar of the idols of our hearts. We so desperately want what we want, that we are willing to yell, say unkind words, or sulk so that our idol can be worshipped. We are willing to sacrifice the relationship, so that we can satisfy our desire for control. If we desire to glorify God and represent Him well to all that we come in contact with, we will seek to understand them and what is happening in their hearts. The cool person’s desire is not to get what they want, but rather to glorify God.

  1. Glorify God and represent Him well

The other person may very well not be happy with us and what we did or what we said. We must evaluate our hearts and our motives and see if there is a “log in our eye” (Mt. 7:3) that must be removed. Then we must evaluate the “speck” (Mt. 7:3) that is in our friend’s eye. None of this can be done if we do not have a cool spirit.

It is easy to be a “Hot-tempered” (Prov. 29:22) person. The cool spirited person seeks to understand other people. Why does the cool spirited man want to understand others? He wants to glorify God. How does He keep a cool spirit? The cool spirited person knows that s/he needs Jesus, the Gospel, the bible, the Holy Spirit, and to deny themselves. We cannot be cool spirited if we do not deny ourselves.

The next time you encounter a disagreement with another person, remember that the cool spirited person comes from a desire to understand the other person, not to be understood. In order to do this, we must deny ourselves.

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