Where there is no revelation, people cast off restraint; but blessed is the one who heeds wisdom’s instruction. (Proverbs 29:18 NIV)
Where
there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is
he. (Proverbs 29:18 KJV)
I’ve
been putting off looking at this verse again, because I know I’ve written about
it more than once. But it’s been on my mind. Granted, I learned it in the King
James translation. I have long loved and hated this verse, because while I long
for revelation, vision, or direction, there’s part of me that is convinced that
the best way to not get something is to ask God for it. It’s not that God is
mean, but that anything I ask for must be somehow the wrong thing for me to
have. It’s a huge lie, straight from the serpent and Genesis 3, but if I’m not
paying careful attention, that’s the direction my mind takes. As often as I’ve
told people that if I’m aiming a gun at them, they’re safe but everything
around them is in danger, like most people, I’m an excellent shot when it comes
to my foot.
One problem
with my problem thinking is that it’s codependent. I am making decisions for
others – including God – rather than allowing them to make their own decisions.
God can’t trust me…that person will figure out I’m unacceptable and end a friendship
I value…
And someone
says, “You shouldn’t think like that!”
“Well,
duh. Ya think?” But much of our thinking doesn’t ask our permission before our
minds dwell on it for too long. It’s after we’ve been thinking as we shouldn’t
think for hours, days, or even years that our minds notice what we’re thinking,
unless we are very careful. I’ll share another whispering from the shadows of
my life today: “I am not prepared for emergencies.” It’s not as true as it once
was, but how easily it distracts from productive thinking and activities. And
by the way – I harvested a bunch more potatoes this morning. Some are tiny, and
it’s probably not enough to meet my needs. I think that’s what has started the susurration
from the weeds. A third – and they’re all related, is “Not good enough.”
Maybe these versions of faulty thinking
isn’t yours. But I’ll bet you have one
or two. Do you know what they are? Can we pray for revelation for each other that gives us the strength to restrain our stinking thinking?
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