Good morning! Are you a person that tends to over think things? I am raising both hands because that is me for sure! I think about everything forwards, backwards, diagonally, and then rethink it again!
Normally, I would say it is a good thing to thoroughly think things through, but I feel like sometimes I’m at a whole other level.
There are a few times though where I feel like this plays into my favor. One of the times I appreciate this neurotic behavior the most is when I go to an event where everyone brings a meal to share with the group.
I normally try to find someone as crazy as me to go around with before everyone starts eating, to see if we can find out who brought all the food. I immediately spot the things that we brought because I know they are safe, then the conversation goes into – does that person have cats, does that person have a clean kitchen, does that person have good personal hygiene? Yes, I know – I’m ridiculous and I am perfectly OK with that!
Another time I appreciate this trait of mine is when I have conversations with others. I constantly hear myself saying to others, “do you THINK that happened or do you KNOW that happened?” There is a big difference on how I will respond in each of those situations.
This probably stems from a selfish desire to not make a fool out of myself, but I don’t want to react on someone else’s opinion, I want to thoughtfully respond to the truth. I especially apply this in regard to the things of God.
When I listen to sermons, podcasts, conversations, or read devotionals, books, and FANTASTIC blogs (such as mine LOL), I always consider the source and ensure it aligns with the truth in the Bible. The Bible is the standard that everything is measured up against before I accept it as truth and begin to change or alter my behaviors. It is not that I completely disregard what others say, but actually the opposite; I consider the thought and filter it through God’s Word.
I have reacted way too many times where I had to swallow my pride and go back to people on many occasions because I reacted to what I thought, instead of what I knew. Sometimes I have even reacted to things that weren’t based on anything except my own crazy imagination.
“Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil.”
1 Thessalonians 5:20-22
Prophecies in the early church were a significant spiritual gift where people would deliver messages of encouragement, guidance, or correction from God. Paul had to address this because there was a tendency to dismiss these messages probably due to false prophets or just flat out misunderstanding.
This happens today when it becomes hard to decipher the truth because everyone claims to be speaking the truth! It’s easy to just put our head down and disregard everything else, but then we can miss the value that others can bring because of how they can apply God’s Word through their experiences in a way to make it so relatable to what we are going through.
When Mer and I sit with Josh each night to explain the things he is reading in the Bible, we relate it to things he is going through at school, baseball, music, or just things around the house. It’s always fun when you see him experience the “aha” moment signifying his understanding. The same can be true when we allow others to speak into our lives; the passage that we have read or a truth that doesn’t make sense to us we finally begin to understand in a new way because of how it is applied to a real life situation.
“Teach me your way, O Lord, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.”
Psalm 86:11
One of my top priorities in life is to live every day to be more like Jesus! In order to do this, I need to understand the truth so that I can apply it in every situation. God has given us the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us, but He has also given us each other! Let’s do our best to not dismiss each other, but instead appreciate the work that God has done in each others lives and enjoy a reciprocal benefit of building each other up!
Heavenly Father, thank You for accepting how crazy we can be sometimes. You know us better than we even know ourselves! Thank You for the value that You have placed in each one of us and help us to share what You have done with others. Help us to see value in each other, but always confirm the truth by filtering it through Your Word. In Jesus Name – AMEN!
Be Transformed 