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Revelation

           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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