Welcome, friends.
Thank you for joining me today on my journey of learning and spiritual growth.
Let’s grow together as we transform ourselves and change the world around us.
Let us be the first to stand up and say…… “I need to change.”
On my journey of spiritual growth, it comes with a lot of “eye openings”
but first I needed to have the willingness to humble myself before God and allow Him to correct my past behaviors so I can move forward on a new path that aligns with His word.
By asking God to open my eyes to my past behaviors and actions, it allows me the opportunity to truly repent and change my ways.
One of the ways His word has been helping me spiritually grow is by taking a deep look at my past relationship disputes and instead of pointing fingers, I try to understand the chain of actions that led to the undesirable outcome.
In order to humble myself before the Lord, I must be teachable and have the desire to be corrected by Him
Proverbs 12:1:”Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but whoever hates correction is stupid
Hebrews 12:11: “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful.
Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”
Let’s take a look at an example of what I am trying to say about looking at the chain of actions that led to an undesirable outcome:
Peggy, Leslie, and Monica are best friends in middle school. Peggy’s birthday is next week, and she is planning a party at her house. However, Leslie tells Monica that Peggy’s past birthday parties have been boring. Monica then tells Peggy about Leslie’s comment. Upset by Leslie’s words, Peggy decides not to invite her to the party.
Feeling hurt and angry, Leslie starts spreading rumors at school about Peggy being unfair and mean. She also tries to convince Monica to side with her against Peggy. As a result, all three friends end up fighting and blaming Peggy for excluding Leslie from the party, causing division in their friendship
As believers and followers of the Lord- we need to understand that relationship disputes are often caused as a result of combined actions and not just one person’s fault.
Each girl in the story thinks she is the victim and
its all about…me, myself and I… my feelings and how I was hurt by your action.
Who do you believe is hurting the most in this story?
My answer is— that the greatest hurt is felt by God
Neither girl should feel hurt but rather deeply ashamed of their own actions, as all three failed to align their actions with God’s word.
Scenarios such as the one described above are not uncommon among followers of the Lord.
Let’s take a step back and take a deep look at our past relationship disputes where there was
hurt feelings, provoked anger, provoking anger, vengeance, jealousy, pointing fault at others, saying insensitive things, making degrading comments,
telling everyone about your drama, ect …..
Romans 12:2 reminds us- “Do not conform to the pattern of this world,
Relationship disputes happen for many reasons, let’s turn to God’s word for some reasons why
1. James 4:1-3- talks about your own selfish desires from within in
2. Romans 12:17-21- talks about vengeance
3. Ephesians 4:26-27- talks about the anger of unresolved issues
4. Philippians 2:3-4- talk about looking out for your own interests instead of the interest of others
5. Jeremiah 17:9- talks about a deceitful heart
6.1 John 2:16-talks about worldly desires and pride
7. Proverbs 25:28- talks about lack of self-control
8. Hebrews 12:15- talks about bitterness that fester
9. 1 Timothy 6:10- talks about the love of money
10. 1 John 3:15-talks about lack of love
11. Proverbs 14:30-talks about jealousy and envy
12. Ephesians 4:29- talks about destructive speech and unwholesome talk harm
12 Galatians 1:10- talks about being a people pleaser, prioritizing human approval over God’s approval
By studying these scriptures and understanding the root causes of our relationship disputes,
It can help in addressing and preventing conflicts in relationships
Let us take these moments of conflict as opportunities for growth and learn from our past mistakes
and make the necessary changes in our lives to align more with God’s will
I invite everyone to join me today in maturating in spiritual growth in the Lord.
As we seek wisdom and understanding, opening our eyes to the sequence of actions in relationship disputes and our own roles within them.
Seeing how I may have strayed from His teachings.
In doing so, we honor the Lord
Not all storms in our life come to cause disruption but come to clear a path.
Let break these chains and clear that path.
Let’s strive to communicate openly and honestly with one another.
Today, let’s focus on being a little better than we were yesterday
Dear Heavenly Father,
As You open my eyes, I feel ashamed for having conformed to the ways of the world instead of following Your teachings.
Please forgive me, Lord, and help me to recognize my past disobediences in my relationship disputes
as I desire to spiritual grow and become closer to you.
I come before You today with a humble and teachable spirit, ready to be corrected by You.
I seek to make decisions that align with Your will every day.
Thank you Lord for your compassion and mercy
Thank you for your patience
Amen
join me today by changing ourselves to make a difference in the world around us
https://echosofmyfootsteps.com
Interactive Lesson # 9 -Breaking the Chains of Worldly Actions
