Thought for the Week

Have you ever felt miserable because you were hot, sweaty, dirty and maybe even itchy? It may have been because you have been really busy and worked very hard with garden, yard, or some other kind of work. Well, that may be the physical counterpart of your emotions when you are guilty of something. The Holy Spirit may be convicting you of some wrong (sin) you have committed. You may have said or done something harmful to a friend, neighbor, stranger, or even God. Just as much as you need a shower/bath, to get yourself physically clean and renewed, you may need to seek forgiveness to get yourself emotionally and spiritually clean and renewed. We can certainly see and know when we are physically miserable and why. So too, we may be aware of our spiritual and emotional misery when we are unforgiven but not able to pinpoint the source of our misery. We can find it fairly easy to ignore the source of our misery by blaming someone else. We can easily say, “Well, it’s his fault, he cut me off at the stop sign.” Or, “Well it’s her fault. She should have known I do not like what she just did.” Such things may be true. Others may be responsible for their actions which cause us discomfort. But, that does not solve our problem and misery. We are the ones responsible for our reactions to their actions. Truly we may feel much more guilt and misery for our reactions than we let on but we are only fooling ourselves. At any rate, we need to get rid of the misery we feel. A careful review of what we have done can be helpful. But if that fails, we can and should always go to God in prayer and ask Him to reveal the source of our misery. Believe it or not, when we are miserable, God feels our pain and misery. He is just as anxious as we are to get rid of those feelings. There are and have been many times when God clearly presents our faults and failures. I think of king David’s fault. God sent His prophet Nathan to confront the King. This is not always the case. God has also endowed us with a faculty called a conscience. If we have allowed God to program our conscience, it will be sensitive to our faults, failures, and guilt. We should react promptly to the conviction of our conscience. The more and longer we ignore what our conscience is telling us, the more dulled it becomes. Before we know it, our conscience is seared and silenced. It no longer acts to warn us. I cannot predict how a fellow human will act if and when we confess our guilt to him. I can tell you how God will react. I John 1:9 is my evidence. It says, “If we confess our sin, God is faithful and just to forgive our sin and even to cleanse us of our unrighteousness.” When He forgives us, we feel as refreshed and renewed emotionally and spiritually as when we step out of a shower. God certainly wants us to be in a right relationship with Him. He is also greatly concerned we be in right relationship with our fellow human beings. The closer our emotional attachment to them the more important a right relationship is. Of course strangers matter, but a spouse, sibling, parent, or child it much more important. So, keep relationships clear with close people. Regularly ask God if there is someone else from whom you may need to ask forgiveness. God always amazes me when He brings someone or something to mind, that is totally unexpected. Our spiritual and emotional welfare is extremely important to God.

Scriptures to Read

I John 1:5-10

Romans 3:21-26

Romans 6:19-23

St. Matthew 18:15-20

St. Matthew 18:1-35

Galatians 5:22-26

James 5:13-20