Daily Devotions

Posts tagged “offenses

Heal My Inner Self


KATHY GABLER—David prayed in Psalm 41:4, “Heal my inner self.” (Amp)  We all have wounds in our lives that we cannot fit into a pretty picture:  experiences that seem to deny God’s goodness, injustices that oppose His plans, conditions that contradict faith, circumstances that seem to defy God’s presence and relationships that resist His love.  Jesus told us offenses would come, Matthew 18:7; and the truth is that we have all suffered the wounds of offense, injustice and loss.  But the greater issue is that our experiences can either Equip us or Cripple us.  It is the will of our Father that we be healed and equipped.


Things Within Causing Reactions

Kathy—Faults and slips and offenses are issues of the heart that affect how we think and therefore affect how we pray.  The insight here is that since our heart-thinking can be tainted or wrong at times, so can our prayers.  For example, I hate injustice.  That sounds noble and right in itself, but if I am offended by unfairness it is possible that my prayers could stem from hatred of injustice instead of a God-view to resolve  injustice.  Although an injustice is outside of me, the hatred of it is within and sometimes things that are within us cause a reaction instead of a godly response.  With an inner flareup of thoughts and impulses I could easily find myself cursing those involved instead of discerning the root of the matter to confront with effectual prayer.  And hatred could thrust me into war within that damages my health and never even affects the problem.  Prayer from the wrong perspective or wrong attitude is not effectual because it simply does not align with God, and it will not bring a powerful God-result. 


Tides and Mountain Strongholds

kg_looking-upKathy — Tides And Mountain Strongholds—Like tides coming and going, there will always be problems. Ps.34:19 “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.” (NKJ) 1Pet. 4:12 “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you.” (NIV) It is not life that builds blockages in our hearts and understanding.  It is our reaction to life that causes us to build isolated forts atop high mountains of the soul every time we try to protect ourselves rather than trusting God, or when we try to justify our offenses rather than forgive or repent, or when we try to avoid pain rather than obey God. So God’s goal is to change me to the point that the tides cannot stir the same reactions within me. He desires to equip us so that troubles, afflictions and offenses are confronted with the Word and displaced by the Truth instead of a reactionary blockage or the false strength of a mountain-stronghold I erect in my soul.