IMPULSIVE DECISIONS
We live in an age where immediate gratification is the norm. We receive entertainment and information instantly, we can easily communicate with others from all over the world, and we demand a swift response. This undoubtedly has created a generation that acts hastily and responds rashly.
“Also it is not good for a soul to be without knowledge, and he sins who hastens with his feet”. Proverbs 19:2
The Lord, through the writings of King Solomon, warns us against acting without forethought and without careful consideration of the consequences. Our flesh is impulsive. Our flesh lacks patience, knowledge, and self-control (Galatians 5:19-22). As Christians, we are called to crucify the desires of our flesh and walk according to the ways of the Spirit (Galatians 5:24-25). But doing so requires a very important step that many Christians, myself included, grossly neglect – we must PAUSE AND REFLECT on the circumstances, PRAYERFULLY consider the situation, and ALLOW THE HOLY SPIRIT to speak through us and move us according to His ways.
One of my favorite Scriptures is in Ezekiel: “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” Ezekiel 36:26
God promises us His Holy Spirit! The same Holy Spirit that equipped Jesus Christ to resist every temptation and reject every sin is the Holy Spirit that God pours upon every believer (Acts 2). And God promises us a new and regenerated heart that desires the things of God! But we must GUARD AND PROTECT that new heart God has given us and make room for the Holy Spirit to Lord over us.
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.” Proverbs 4:23. This Proverb teaches us that what flows from our hearts can either be worldly (sprung by our flesh), or it can be godly (sprung by the Holy Spirit). And we must guard what we allow in our hearts, so what flows out of our hearts is of the Lord.
But how can we do that when we react impulsively in this era of urgency? STOP. BE QUIET. SEEK THE LORD. And ALLOW HIS WILL to be done in and through you.
“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” Psalm 27:14
Tiffany Gustafson
#EverythingUnderTheSon
#FVCblogs
